In a bizarre incident, a 38-year old college lecture has complained to the police that a cab driver and three friends beat him up and robbed him of Rs. 16,000 through PayTM, all in a moving taxi on October 21.
Santhosh, who teaches at a fashion design institute, was near his home in Kempegowda Layout waiting to book a taxi when the cab driver approached him. A cab pulled up near him with the driver asking him to book the ride as he needed just one more booking to complete his daily quota of rides. Santhosh got into the cab and was surprised to see another passenger sitting inside. The cab took a right turn and travelled 50 metres when two more men boarded the cap and assaulted Santhosh even as the cab kept moving, reported Deccan Herald.
The accused allegedly threatened Santhosh to give him money and when the Rs.200 in his wallet did not suffice, the assailants forced him to call his parents at knife point and request their ATM details. The men snatched Santhosh’s mobile phone, installed PayTM and opened two accounts using two different numbers in the dual sim phone before transferring Rs. 16,000, according to a report in The New Indian Express. “They forced him to transfer money from his two bank accounts (SBI and Canara Bank) to his Paytm accounts from which they transferred the money to their PayTM accounts,” Santhosh’s brother Govardhan told Deccan Herald.
The unknown assailants also deleted Santhosh’s messages and took away his sim card before dropping him off near Lumbini Gardens close to Nagawara, around four hours after the ordeal began at 4:40 pm.
Santhosh filed a complaint at Mahalakshmi Layout Police Station in which he complained of injuries on his face and rib. The police investigating the case said that the kidnapping appeared to be well planned with one or more of the assailants knowing the lecturer beforehand.