This gang offered rides in ‘shared cabs’, robbed commuters on way

Noida: Three members of a gang, which allegedly offered commuters rides in their “shared cab” before taking them hostage at gunpoint and using their credit/debit cards to shop, were arrested on Sunday night after a gunfight with the police.
Investigators believe the gang was behind at least three such robberies in less than two weeks—one of the commuters was found in the car, blindfolded and tied up, after the police team intercepted the gang while they were driving from Sector 44 to 96 in Noida. A fourth gang member was arrested soon after.
Police said on Monday that the gang included a BSc graduate, and all four were youngsters who lived in Ghaziabad. After robbing the commuters and taking the details of cards/UPI ID passwords, they would go and buy branded shoes and jackets.
Cops first got wind of the gang on January 15, when a 34-year-old Jeganathan Thangaraja, an engineer and resident of Sector 45, was offered a cab ride to Greater Noida by three men in a Maruti Celerio near the Sector 37 bus stop.
After crossing the Amity University, the three men pointed guns at Thangaraja, beat him up, took his phone and UPI ID passwords. According to the engineer’s complaint, they drove till the mall in Noida, stopping 4-5 times on the way, before letting him go near Vasant Kunj later that evening.
“The accused took loans of Rs 3 lakh after taking his phone, and withdrew around Rs 1.2 lakh,” Ashutosh Dwivedi, ADCP (Noida) had said.
Less than 24 hours later, cops received another complaint from Shivam (24), a marketing official. He had boarded their car near the Amit University to get to Knowledge Park when they robbed him.
“The accused did the same with him. Tied him up and pointed a gun at him. He was robbed of Rs 78,000. Based on his complaint, a case was registered. Teams were formed and supervised by ACP -1 Rajneesh Verma to nab the miscreants,” Dwivedi said.
On Sunday, cops got a tip-off about their movement as they were driving from Sector 44 to Sector 96.
“They started firing at us when we intercepted their car. Three of them— Yogendra Prasad, a native of Bulandshahr and a BSc graduate, and Sonu and Abhi (both belonging to Ghaziabad) —were injured in retaliatory firing. They were rushed to a hospital for treatment and their condition is stable,” said ACP Verma.
After they were arrested, cops also found another commuter, 25-year-old Sudhir Kumar, in the gang members’ car. “He was also tied up and blindfolded. The accused had offered to drop him to Kalindi Kunj after picking him up from Advant in Sector 142. They robbed him of R 1 lakh,” the ACP added.
The accused directed the cops to a fourth gang member, Arun, who was later arrested from the city.
They also told the cops that they used to buy shoes from Puma and jackets from brands like Woodland and Nautica from the cards they had stolen.
The police team has recovered pistols, live cartridges and around Rs 1.5 lakh from their possession.
On Monday, the additional DCP urged commuters not to take unknown cabs, and instead book a ride on a mobile app.
The accused have been booked under IPC sections 307 (attempt to murder), 411 (dishonestly receiving stolen property), 482 (punishment for using a false property mark), 392 (punishment for robbery), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) and relevant provisions of the Arms Act.