Delhi Police have apprehended three individuals involved in a violent cab robbery, where the driver was assaulted and extorted for the return of his vehicle.
Police said Thursday that three men were arrested for allegedly robbing a cab driver at knifepoint, beating him with a beer bottle, and later demanding a Rs 20,000 to return the vehicle.
According to police, the incident took place in the early hours of April 20 when the victim, a cab driver, accepted a ride booked from New Karala Road in Rohini to Chandni Chowk.
"At around 1 am, when the driver reached the pickup point near Krishna Block, three men, Ravi Kumar (20), Puspender alias Kaale (21) and Hargovind alias Tochi (21), all residents of Jain Nagar in outer Delhi, boarded the cab after sharing the OTP. A short distance into the journey, one of them asked the driver to stop, claiming he had forgotten his mobile phone," a police officer said.
When the driver halted the vehicle, the trio allegedly pulled him out and attacked him with a beer bottle, causing head injuries. They then threatened him with a knife, snatched his mobile phone, robbed the cab and fled towards Hanuman Chowk, police said.
Police said the injured driver made a PCR call from a passerby's mobile phone, and they admitted him to Sanjay Gandhi Hospital. Based on his statement, police registered a case at Begumpur police station.
Police said the accused later contacted the victim and demanded Rs 20,000 through UPI for returning the vehicle, sharing a mobile number for the transaction.
During the investigation, a team tracked the suspects, and it recovered the robbed cab from the Vikaspuri area.
"After raids, all three accused were apprehended. Their mobile phones, which contained details of calls and messages used for extortion, were seized," the officer said.
A knife was also recovered from Hargovind, and the car along with its original keys was found in their possession.
During interrogation, the accused confessed to their involvement in another similar incident on April 16 in the same area. In that case, they had robbed another vehicle and a mobile phone.
Police said further investigation is underway.