Two pin down cab driver, steal his car

We are scanning CCTV footage from nearby areas of the crime spot, and will identify and arrest the accused.

A POLICE OFFICER

NEW DELHI: Two unidentified assailants robbed a cab driver of his Toyota Etios car on Saturday afternoon on Jor Bagh Road when the victim was headed to Meharchand Market to get his vehicle checked by a mechanic, police said.

The 59-year-old victim — identified as Moti Lal, a resident of east Delhi’s Trilokpuri — told the police that he was going to the Meherchand Market in Lodhi Colony to get his car repaired since it was having ignition problem. Lal told the police that after completing a ride in Palam, he decided to go to Meharchand Market to get the vehicle checked before picking up another fare.

“On the way to the market, I stopped on the Jor Bagh Road and stepped out of the vehicle to relieve myself,” Lal said in his complaint to the police.

“As I returned and sat inside the car... two men walked towards the vehicle,” he said. One of them opened the driver’s seat door and forcibly pulled him out of the car and pinned him down, the other person took to the driver’s seat and the two fled in the vehicle, Lal said in his complaint. “It happened so fast that I could not understand what was going on... I was shocked and scared,” Lal said, and added that he also lost his cellphone, ATM card, cheque book, and driving licence which were inside the car at the time of the incident. After several attempts Lal managed to borrow a cellphone from a passerby to contact his brother-in-law (details not shared by police) — also a cab driver — who reached the crime spot and took Lal to the local police station, officers aware of the case details said.

Lal’s son Sunil, 32, alleged that they had to wait six hours to get their complaint registered. Addition deputy commissioner of police Pawan Kumar could not be reached for a comment on the allegations levelled by the victim. A case has been registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), said a senior police officer, adding that an investigation is underway. “We are scanning CCTV footage from nearby areas of the crime spot, and will identify and arrest the accused at the earliest,” the officer said asking not to be named. According to Delhi Police data, 2,333 cases of robbery were reported in the national Capital in 2021..