Greater Noida: Cab driver held for planning ₹2L robbery

Police were informed one-and-a-half hours after the incident on emergency number 112, around 5.45 pm

Noida: The Noida police on Sunday detained a car driver for orchestrating a ₹2 lakh robbery, a day after a 58-year-old accountant of a Greater Noida-based construction firm accompanying him, was allegedly robbed at gunpoint in Noida Sector 62 underpass while commuting in their company’s car.

When statements of the accountant and driver were recorded, contradictions were found. After extensive investigation, Ompal revealed that he, along with four accomplices, had planned the robbery. (Representational image)

The driver was identified as 30-year-old Ompal (single name), who had been working for the company for the last six years. He was held for carrying out the robbery with four accomplices, said officers urging anonymity.

Police scanned nearly 200 CCTV cameras from Delhi to Noida installed on the duo’s route before nabbing Ompal. Both worked for the same firm. Though the driver was found complicit, the accountant’s involvement has not been found yet, they added.

On Saturday afternoon, accountant Naval Kishore, filed an FIR stating that, “On Friday, around 4 pm, when I was returning to my office along with driver Ompal after collecting cash of ₹2 lakh from Delhi, a car without a registration number intercepted us. Four men boarded in the car, alleging that we were involved in a fight, and asked for letting them check the car’s boot.”

“As my driver alighted the vehicle, they robbed the cash at gunpoint,” reads the FIR.

Police were informed one-and-a-half hours after the incident on emergency number 112, around 5.45 pm. “We were informed that they decided to file the complaint after consulting with their seniors in the company,” said Avdhesh Pratap Singh, SHO (Sector 63).

When statements of the accountant and driver were recorded, contradictions were found. After extensive investigation, Ompal revealed that he, along with four accomplices, had planned the robbery, the officer added.

As Ompal left for Noida with the accountant, he alerted his accomplices on their snapchat group, and they followed the car. He was driving the car at around 20 km per hour in Sector 62 underpass when the other suspects stopped them, officers said.

“Ompal has been detained, and efforts are underway to nab his accomplices. A case under Section 309 (robbery) of BNS was registered, and Section 317 (dishonestly receiving stolen property) will be added to the FIR,” said SHO Singh, adding that further investigation is underway.