It’s a pattern that’s been repeating with alarming regularity. Robbers, in the guise of cab drivers, offer a lift to gullible passengers desperate to get home after a hard day’s work. After travelling some distance, they threaten the passengers and take away whatever valuable they are carrying.
Police have busted some gangs but the fact that such incidents keep taking place means that many more are still in currency.
In such a scenario, what can the people do?
“We have been telling goldsmiths and businessmen to avoid carrying jewellery and valuables while travelling at night, but they rarely heed our warnings and often risk getting robbed,” said joint commissioner of police (crime) Pranab Mohanty.
Police also suggest that people take public transport whenever they can for travelling at night.
But commuters say since public transport buses stop plying after 10 pm they are at the mercy of cabs. The number of robberies involving cabs has increased in the past year and people have become cautious while booking cabs or while flagging one down late in the night.
According to a senior police officer these robbers pose as cab drivers and often rob people in the pretext of giving them a lift. There may be three to four gangs operating in the city and they generally use Tata Indica cars, he added.
The dark hours
The gangs mostly strike at night. The car drivers go to junctions and approach people waiting for a bus or an auto. They tell them they too are going the same way and offer to drop them for a nominal fare. The gullible ones, eager to reach home, often decide to take these cabs and risk getting robbed.
“With an increase in incidents of robbery in the city over a year, all vehicles going outside the city limits are being thoroughly checked. We have told to all division DCPs to do so,” additional commissioner of police T Suneel Kumar said.
“We are checking the cars in many of the checkpoints on BIA and other places. Whenever we feel suspicious, we interrogate them. But police cannot keep a watch on each and every vehicle, hence people should listen to us for their own safety,” said Mohanthy.
Cab drivers have their own grouse. A driver, requesting anonymity, said, “Police generally do not check the yellow board cabs at night, as these vehicles are assigned to work for some companies. Some miscreants are misusing this factor to rob passengers.” However, Mohanthy denied this and said, “We do check a lot of yellow board cars. We have noticed that people nowadays do not stand in bus stops, but wait for these cabs at various junctions.”
People have
no option
“I prefer to go in a cab going in my direction, as auto-rickshawscharge more than double the meter fare after 9.30 pm. These cabs charge Rs10 to Rs15 extra and we also reach home in a short time,” said Ramesh, who works in a garment factory.
More than 15,000 cabs operate during the night and it is difficult to check each and every cab. It will also lead to unnecessary inconvenience to those traveling in it, said a senior police officer.
Easy targets
These gangs who pose as cab drivers often target night travellers such as goldsmiths, businessmen, employees of IT and BPO firms. The police have caught some gang members in Jayanagar, Jnanabharathi, Chandra Layout, Yelahanka and some other places. But a lot many are still active. “They work with private travel agencies in the city and also carry out criminal activities. We have drawn up guidelines for travel agencies,” an inspector said on conditions of anonymity.
Soft spots
These incidents are happening mainly in South, South East, West and East divisions. Once they carry out robbery they flee to the city outskirts or even out of the city, police said.
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