Noida: 2 ‘car jackers’ held after encounter

Two men were arrested after a brief exchange of fire with police for allegedly robbing a cab driver at gunpoint after booking a ride through a cab aggregator app from Delhi to Greater Noida, officials said on Tuesday

Two men were arrested after a brief exchange of fire with police for allegedly robbing a cab driver at gunpoint after booking a ride through a cab aggregator app from Delhi to Greater Noida, officials said on Tuesday.

The incident took place on Friday, with the police identifying the accused as two men, aged 22, and 19, both originally from Bhind in Madhya Pradesh, residing in Gurugram. (Representational image)

According to police, the incident took place on Friday. The accused were identified as two men, aged 22, and 19, both originally from Bhind in Madhya Pradesh, residing in Gurugram.

The victim -- a 30-year-old cab driver from Bharatpur, Rajasthan -- approached the Ecotech 1 police station on Sunday and lodged a complaint alleging that two passengers had fled with his Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire and mobile phone on the Yamuna Expressway.

“The complainant stated that he had accepted a ride request from Delhi to Greater Noida on July 24. During the journey, the two began insisting on driving the vehicle themselves and later asked him to pull over, claiming they needed to relieve themselves,” said Ravi Shankar, assistant commissioner of police, Greater Noida.

The ACP further said, “As soon as the driver stopped the cab on the expressway, the passengers forced him into stepping out and sped away with the car before he could process the situation.”

Police registered a case of robbery at the Ecotech 1 station and set up teams to trace the suspects.

“Using electronic surveillance and a network of CCTV cameras, we tracked down the accused to Yamuna Pushta within the Ecotech 1 jurisdiction,” added ACP Shankar.

Police said that when the suspects were signalled to stop during a checking drive, they opened fire at the personnel. In retaliatory firing, both sustained bullet injuries to their legs and were taken into custody.

Authorities recovered the stolen cab, three mobile phones -- including the victim’s -- two illegal firearms, and several cartridges from the accused. Further investigation is underway to ascertain if the accused have any prior criminal record or were involved in similar incidents in the past, police said.