Executive held hostage by cabbie for 3 hours, robbed of cash & jewellery

Ghaziabad: A 43-year-old executive of an auto component manufacturing company was allegedly robbed of Rs 1.15 lakh and a gold ring by a cab driver and three of his accomplices after he took the taxi from Ghaziabad railway station for his Greater Noida residence late on Sunday night.
Manish Kumar Jha, the safety head of Spark Minda in Rewari, was allegedly held hostage at gunpoint for three hours and thrashed by his co-riders, forcing him to reveal his ATM card pin. Later the four withdrew Rs 1 lakh from his account.
They also snatched his wallet containing Rs 15,000, mobile phone charger, earphone, and new clothes and some fruits he had bought, before dumping him near a school in Vijay Nagar in the early hours of Monday.
Santosh Kumar Jha, his younger brother, told TOI that Manish was returning from Patna on Sunday. “Seemanchal Express was supposed to reach Ghaziabad around 9.30 pm but it was delayed by three hours. After getting down from the train, he took a cab from outside, but missed noticing a person sitting inside,” he said.
“As soon as he boarded the cab, the driver stepped on the gas pedal. Within no time, the person sitting next to the driver pointed a gun at him. A little later, two other persons boarded the vehicle and made my brother sit in the middle. They had guns and knives and started beating my brother. He was forced to part with his debit cards and the passwords. They mainly hit him on his hands and knees,” Santosh added.
The ordeal continued for over three hours. Around 3.30am, Manish was thrown out of the vehicle near Jindal Public School. In a badly bruised condition, he sought help from a passerby who told him to wait for the police patrolling vehicle. After covering a considerable distance on foot, Manish finally spotted a police patrolling bike and narrated the crime to cops.
Based on his complaint, an FIR under IPC 392 (robbery) was lodged at Vijay Nagar police station.
SP (city) Shlok Kumar said teams have been formed to investigate the case. “Noida police have also been informed as money was withdrawn from Noida ATMs as well,” he said.
Similar crimes were reported in Ghaziabad in March this year too. A 30-year-old dentist was robbed by four persons in an auto-rickshaw, including the vehicle driver, while she was returning from her clinic in Vaishali. She was thrashed and kept inside the moving vehicle for around 45 minutes. They had gagged her mouth after blindfolding her and tying her hands and legs with ropes.