Travel agent robbed and stabbed in shared taxi

NEW DELHI: A 46-year-old travel agent who boarded a shared cab in north Delhi was allegedly robbed, stabbed and dumped by the occupants of the car in the early hours of Saturday.

The victim, Malkeet Singh, alleged he received stab wounds to his hand while fighting the four robbers, but escaped life-threatening injuries even though he was dumped unconscious on the street. Singh alleged the robbers took his two cellphones and ₹5,500 in cash.

An FIR had been registered at Mahendra Park police station and efforts are on to identify and nab the robbers, deputy commissioner of police (northwest) Aslam Khan said.

A resident of north Delhi’s Burari, Singh runs a travel company near the Kashmere Gate bus terminal.

Singh would usually get a shared taxi after work when all the cars from his travel agency were on duty. “Around the midnight of Friday and Saturday, he came across a white Wagonr that had four people inside. He was offered a lift for ₹30,” his brother, Manjeet, said.

When the cab was passing through Haiderpur Flyover, Singh allegedly found himself being held hostage by the other occupants in the car. “One of them had a pistol, another had a knife. The driver was hand-inglove with the robbers and he activated the central lock of the car, preventing my brother from escaping,” Manjeet alleged.

“When my brother resisted the robbery, one robber attacked him with the knife. My brother is a well-built man and he fought back, but received four stab wounds to his hand and palm,” said Manjeet.

Singh was finally dumped in Pitam Pura before the robbers drove away, leaving him unconscious. “My brother noticed that the car’s registration number plate was yellow, but it did not have its last four digits,” said Manjeet.

Singh regained consciousness around 1.30 am on Saturday and sought a passersby help to call his younger brother, who is a sub-inspector with the Delhi Police.