The Mumbai Police Crime Branch has arrested a gang of four that allegedly booked cabs through mobile apps, made the driver stop on the way, and then fled with his cab. The police have recovered four stolen taxis from Dhule, where they were going to be sold.
According to police officers, Unit II of the Crime Branch made the arrests after a complaint was registered with the Pydhonie police in March this year.
“The accused had booked a cab using a mobile app for a journey from Crawford Market to Nerul in Navi Mumbai. On the way to Nerul, the accused asked the driver to pull over at a secluded spot on the Palm Beach Road in Navi Mumbai, telling him that one of them was feeling sick. As soon as the vehicle stopped, the accused overpowered the driver, robbed him of his cell phone and money and fled with the cab,” said Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Atulchandra Kulkarni.
After the driver registered a complaint with the Pydhonie police, the Unit II initiated parallel investigations into the incident.
Investigators tracked the location of the cell phone used to book the cab and found that it had started from Bhiwandi, gone to Powai, and then to Crawford Market, from where the cab was booked, on the day of the offence.
They then cross-referenced other cell numbers that had passed through these three locations on the day of the crime, and further tracked the movements of the shortlisted numbers.
“After careful analysis as well as inquiries with informants on the ground, we were able to identify one suspect, who was put under surveillance. He led us to the other three accused and they were all arrested from Saki Naka, Andheri East. Their interrogation has revealed that they have committed a similar offence in Dindoshi, as well as two more in the jurisdiction of the Waliv police station in Palghar district,” said Mr Kulkarni.
Based on information provided by the accused during the questioning, the police recovered four vehicles – a Toyota Etios, a Maruti Suzuki Ertiga, and two Maruti Swift Dzires – from various spots in Dhule, 330 km north east of Mumbai. The police said the accused had removed the licence plates of all the four cars and were going to add new licence plates before selling them.
