Man abducted near Red Fort, robbed by four in moving car

Looted of ₹60,000 cash, laptop, phone and watch; dumped later

A sales executive with a city-based private company was abducted in a car and was robbed of ₹60,000 cash, laptop, mobile phone and watch by a gang of four burglars near Red Fort early on Saturday, the police said on Sunday.

The robbers allegedly lured Anoop Pant inside the car by offering him a ride to his home in Sagarpur.

They drove around for 40 minutes before assaulting and robbing Mr. Pant and dumping him at an isolated stretch on Ring Road behind Red Fort.

Mr. Pant told the police that he arrived at Old Delhi railway station from Rishikesh at 1.30 a.m on Saturday. “My phone got switched off due to low battery and I could not book a cab. I walked towards the bus stop near Red Fort metro station gate no 3,” the victim said.

“While waiting for the bus, a white-coloured cab with ‘three passengers’ stopped next to him. The cab driver enquired about my destination. When I replied, he said he was going in the same direction and offered to drop me at Sagarpur,” Mr. Pant said.

“I got into the cab as I had no other way to reach home at that hour of the night. I got suspicious when the driver started driving towards Shanti Van chowk instead of going straight towards Daryaganj. I tried to open the cab’s door but the driver increased the speed. I realised the seriousness of the issue and stopped resisting,” said the victim.

‘Was overpowered’

“The cab had moved a few metres when I was overpowered by the trio at knifepoint. I tried to resist but one of them threatened to kill me. They snatched my laptop, mobile phone, watch and ₹60,000. After robbing me, they dumped me on the road just behind Red Fort,” he said.

“The robbers gave me ₹100 and dropped me behind Red Fort at 2.40 a.m. They dumped me at a dark spot, making it impossible for me to to note down the registration number. I started walking again and found a PCR van, where I reported the matter,” said the victim.

FIR registered

The police said the victim was immediately taken to Kotwali police station, where he narrated his ordeal.

“An FIR under IPC Section 392 [robbery] has been registered at Kotwali police station. The case is under investigation. We are scanning CCTV cameras to get a clue about the offending cab,” said a senior police officer.