Two including auto driver held for robbing passenger of Rs 20,000 in Delhi

New Delhi, Aug 18 (PTI) Two men, including an autorickshaw driver, were arrested here for allegedly taking passengers to deserted areas in north Delhi and robbing them, police said on Monday.

The case came to light when on August 12, Vikas (22), who had arrived in Delhi from Bihar for the first time and took an autorickshaw from outside the ISBT Kashmere Gate around 5.45 am to reach Tikri Border.

Another passenger was already seated in the autorickshaw, police said.

Instead of taking him to the destination, the driver diverted the vehicle to Burari-Mukundpur service road, stopped the vehicle there and told Vikas that they had reached, a police officer said.

When Vikas scanned the UPI code to pay Rs 150, the driver and the other passenger allegedly snatched his phone, threatened him to share the password, and transferred Rs 20,000 from his e-wallet before fleeing, he said.

A case was registered at Burari police station based on the victim's complaint and a team was formed to nab the culprits. The two accused were identified using CCTV footage and their movements were traced.

The mobile phone number to which the money was transferred helped the team zero in on the accused, and Yogesh (25) was arrested, the officer added.

He told police that him and his associate Mohammad Ali (29) drove the autorickshaw during night and lured unsuspecting passengers by offering low fares. They would then take the passenger to secluded areas and rob them.

"The two had withdrawn the robbed money from an ATM in Jahangirpuri and split it equally. Following Yogesh's disclosure, multiple raids were conducted, leading to Ali's arrest on August 16," the officer further said.

Police said both are school dropouts and drug addicts, who previously served jail terms in a robbery case. PTI BM BM OZ OZ