More skeletons tumble out of cabbies’ closet
A day after the dreaded cabbie gang was busted and five criminals arrested, more victims have come forward to recall their night of horror.
A day after the dreaded cabbie gang was busted and five criminals arrested, more victims have come forward to recall their night of horror.
The gang used to target mainly professionals and BPO executives waiting for public transport on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway.
On the pretext of offering them a lift, they used to assault and mug passengers before dumping them off with broken bones. Their main intention was to rob valuables and extract the ATM card and password.
Speaking to Hindustan Times, two IT engineers (names withheld on request of victims) working with Wipro and GE, respectively, shared their spine-chilling stories.
The 26-year-old Wipro engineer, who had recently shifted to the Gurgaon office from Delhi, fell prey to the gang on December 24 last year. It was his mother’s birthday and he got late in office. So, he decided to take a lift to reach home before midnight.
He was abducted from Shankar Chowk on the Gurgaon Expressway in a white Santro (used by the gang and now seized by the police) and brutally assaulted for not giving out his debit card PIN.
“They tortured me for two hours and their language was very abusive. It was like experiencing death. I had no hope to survive given the way they kicked and punched me. Till today, I feel someone is following me and feel scared. Even after I gave them everything I had, they broke my right hand and ribs. I lost one tooth too,” he said. “They dropped me off in an isolated place threatening to kill me if I complained to the police,” the victim added.
His laptop, watch, gold ring, chain and Rs4,400 cash was stolen and the gang also withdrew Rs28,000 using his ATM card.
The second victim who works with GE in Gurgaon said he had taken a lift on November 22 from Iffco Chowk along with another passenger (a gang member posing as a commuter) in the Santro around 10:45 pm to go to Mahipalpur.
“When the car reached near the Ambience Mall flyover, the driver suddenly took a u-turn and one man pushed my neck down and punched my nose. I suffered a blackout but they kept punching me in the stomach and one of the criminals aimed only for the ribs,” he recalled.
“They told me to give away all my belongings if I wanted to stay alive. After they withdrew money from an ATM booth using my debit card, I was thrown near the Faridabad Road in a semi-conscious state,” the victim added.
He is still undergoing treatment but has developed a fear psychosis. He says he feels frightened whenever he sees a white Santro.
DCP (east) Maheshwar Dayal said night patrolling has been increased and more PCR vans are being deployed. He also advised people not to take lifts from unidentified persons.
