In a shocking incident, a 29-year-old Ola driver was allegedly abducted, threatened, and robbed at airgunpoint by two unidentified men who had booked his cab through the Rapido app. The incident occurred on the night of June 28, between 11:15 PM and 12:30 AM, near Gate No. 4 of the National Sports Club of India (NSCI) in Tardeo, South Mumbai.
The Mumbai Crime Branch Unit 3 has arrested both accused residents of Madhya Pradesh and recovered an airgun and stolen items. The arrested individuals have been identified as Milan Singh Dhuri Singh Gond (30), a resident of Vijay Sagar village, Damoh district, and Sukhanandan Singh Narayan Gond (22), from the same village.
The victim, Ankit Jagprasad Pandey, a resident of Shanti Park, Jahagir Circle, Mira Road, was operating his Swift Dzire taxi (MH 04 LY 2070) when he received a booking from near the vegetable market flyover in Dadar West to Lala College, Tardeo.
Upon reaching the destination, the two men allegedly instructed him to stop by the roadside. When Pandey asked for the fare of ₹200, the duo started arguing. As soon as the car halted, the suspects seated in the rear restrained the driver by covering his mouth with a muffler, taping his mouth, hands, and feet, and threatened him with an airgun pressed to his neck. They verbally abused him and warned him not to resist.
The accused forced Pandey to drive to NSCI Gate No. 4, where they again tied him up and looted ₹1,900 in cash (in various denominations), a Redmi mobile phone worth ₹3,500, a Vivo mobile phone worth ₹3,000 (with a Jio SIM card), along with his Aadhaar card, PAN card, ATM card, driving license, and the RC book of a motorcycle (MH04-LG-1834).
After robbing him, they locked Pandey inside the car and fled. No CCTV footage was available at the crime scene.
Following the complaint, the Tardeo Police registered an FIR against the duo under sections 309(4), 352, 351(3), and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Based on technical analysis of the mobile number used to book the ride, police traced the suspects to Santacruz. Surveillance was mounted near Santacruz railway station, where both accused were apprehended.
During interrogation, Milan Singh and Sukhanandan Singh confessed to the crime, citing financial distress in their families as the motive. Police seized an airgun and both stolen mobile handsets used in the crime.
The operation was conducted by API Amol Mali and police personnel Arun Ghatkar, Vinod Parab, Ravindra Dewarde, Vaibhav Girkar, Ashok Patil, Vikas Chavan, and Maruti Khedkar. The accused are in police custody, and further investigation is underway.
