Cab driver seeks inflated fare from cops posing as passengers, arrested

The accused driver, Warisali Sayuddin Shaikh, was arrested on Thursday after he allegedly threatened police officers posing as decoy customers with dire consequences if they did not pay an inflated fare for their journey to Borivali, police said

Mumbai: The Sahar police have arrested a 49-year-old taxi driver for allegedly extorting money from passengers travelling from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport to other parts of the city. The accused driver, Warisali Sayuddin Shaikh, was arrested on Thursday after he allegedly threatened police officers posing as decoy customers with dire consequences if they did not pay an inflated fare for their journey to Borivali, police officers familiar with the case told Hindustan Times.

Cab driver seeks inflated fare from cops posing as passengers, arrested

The action against the accused driver was part of a special operation by the Sahar police to fish out extortionist taxi and auto drivers demanding exorbitant fares from unsuspecting passengers. The operation was launched after a woman traveller from the United States was fleeced of $200 (around ₹18,000) by a cab driver on January 12 this year, for a 400-metre drive from the airport to her hotel. As reported by HT on January 30, the driver linked to the incident was arrested and his vehicle seized.

In the latest incident, on June 25, driver Warisali Sayuddin Shaikh initially told two police constables posing as customers that the fare from the airport to Borivali would be ₹550. But along the way, he demanded ₹800 from them and threatened them.

“A taxi driver approached us and said, ‘Aapko kidar jaane ka hai, idhar aaoo (Where you want to go, come here)’. At that time, I told him that we wanted to go to Borivali. He said the fare would be ₹550, but while we were on the way, he demanded ₹800 as the fare. When we questioned him about the escalation, he threatened us with dire consequences and warned us to remain seated if we did not want any trouble,” Sonawane said in his complaint.

A team following the taxi stopped the vehicle after receiving a signal from Sonawane and arrested Shaikh and sent his driving licence for suspension.

Errant drivers such as Shaikh are being booked for extortion, in addition to cheating, to curb the menace of drivers threatening, fleecing and extorting money from tourists and passengers leaving the airport, police said.