Noida police bust gang that looted passengers availing ‘ride-sharing’ services, arrest four

The police arrested four members of the gang during a shootout near an under-construction underpass between Sector-44 and Sector-96 in Noida Sunday. The police have seized three pistols, four mobiles, a celerio car, and Rs 1.55 lakh from the accused.

The accused have been identified as Yogendra Singh, Sonu, Abhi, and Arun Kumar – all residents of Ghaziabad.

The police said the gang committed four such robberies in the recent past. “During a police encounter, three of the accused received gun injuries. They were referred to Safdarjung hospital,” said ADCP (Noida) Ashutosh Dwivedi.

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He further said, “The gang focussed on areas where very few passengers usually wait for cabs. They then used to offer lifts to such commuters… blindfold them and tie their hands. The gang then took away the victims’ ATM cards and withdrew money.”

The officer also said that in case there was not enough money in the account, the criminals forced the victims to call home and demand a ransom.

“Even during the shootout, we rescued one of the victims from their custody, who was blindfolded and his hands were tied. On January 15, they looted Rs 4 lakh… In the latest case, they had already extorted Rs 90,000 from the boy and asked for another Rs 91,000 from his father.”

The police said they used to target Sector-37, Sector-44, Amity footbridge, Noida-Greater Noida expressway, Advant, and Pari Chowk.

According to the police, the accused held an IT engineer hostage at the Sector 37 intersection on January 15. The gang withdrew money twice with his ATM card and used the amount to shop at the DLF Mall. On January 16, the gang again targeted an IT engineer near Amity footbridge and looted him.

The Sector-39 police have registered three cases under Sections 307 (Attempt to murder), 411 (Dishonestly receiving stolen property), 392 (Punishment for robbery), and 506 (Criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code, and Sections 25 and 27 of the Arms act.

The police have asked commuters to not take a ride in any unknown person’s car and instead use public transport or app-based cab services to avoid such incidents.