Passenger robbed by auto-rickshaw driver, two accomplices at BKC

Bhur Singh Rajput

Despite frequent crackdowns by the traffic police and other authorities, the menace of the auto mafia in BKC shows no signs of abating. Auto drivers here don't just overcharge, but have now also started looting passengers after luring them into their vehicles by offering to drop them at the nearest station in a share auto.

On April 7, around 8 pm, Bhur Singh Rajput, 24, a Kurla resident, was robbed by an auto driver and his two accomplices. Speaking to mid-day, Rajput who works as a delivery person for a hardware company, said, "I had picked up some hardware products and had to deliver them to a shop. That day, I was standing near MTNL in BKC when I got a call from a client from Bandra West who asked me to come and meet him. I spotted an auto close by and asked those sitting inside if it was a share-auto and the driver said yes."

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He added, "There were two passengers already seated inside. As I was getting in, one of the passengers said as he chewed gutkha and needed to keep spitting it out, would I mind sitting in the middle space. I saw no reason to refuse. But, when the auto had reached Bharat Nagar, the driver suddenly stopped the vehicle and placed a knife at my throat."

Rajput said he was so scared that he could not react. "When I tried to escape, the two people who pretended to be passengers held my hands. The driver then told me to hand over my valuables. They took Rs 1,700 cash and my mobile phone and threw me out of the moving auto. Luckily, I wasn't hurt. I was shivering in fright but somehow reached the police station and lodged my complaint," Rajput said.

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According to the investigating officer, "As soon as we received the complaint, we scanned CCTV footage in the entire area. Fortunately, Rajput had noted down the number of the autorickshaw, with which we tracked it down. We then arrested two people who live in Bharat Nagar in BKC. The arrested accused are identified as Sameer (the driver) and Jafar (one of the passengers). However, the other passenger is absconding. We arrested them under various sections of the Indian Penal code and investigations are on."

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