But cabbie manages to escape with valuables worth Rs 90,000
But cabbie manages to escape with valuables worth Rs 90,000A Mumbai-based doctor was robbed by a cabbie of valuables worth Rs 90,000 on Saturday but she and her friend managed to escape being gang-raped after the taxi ran out of fuel on the Bangalore-Mysore highway.
The passengers of a passing state transport bus rescued the girls and managed to nab two accomplices but the main accused managed to flee with the booty.
In her statement to the police, Dr Shalini Pal, a resident of Andheri, said that she had come to the city to appear for the postgraduate medical entrance examination.
After taking the examination at the KLE medical college, Pal hired a taxi with her friend Sameera, who had also appeared for the same exam.
The cabbie, who had a friend seated in the cab, initially asked for Rs 800 to drop the girls at the Indian Social Institute in Benson Town. After bargaining, he agreed to an amount of Rs 300.
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CHEAP RIDE: Dr Shalini Pal and her friend hail a taxi for the Indian Social Institute in Benson Town. The cabbie asks for Rs 800 initially, but settles for Rs 300 after the girls bargain |
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HAND IT OVER: The cabbie takes a detour towards the Bangalore-Mysore highway. The passengers are caught unaware as he stops the car and asks them to handover their valuables at knifepoint |
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SEX ON THE ROAD: The cabbie decides to take the girls to an isolated spot with the intention of raping them, but the cab develops a snag midway. He asks two of his associates to get fuel |
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SAVED BY THE BUS: Dr Shalini sees a bus approaching and gets off the taxi to sound an alarm. The cabbie and another accomplice flee but the two other associates are nabbed and beaten up by the bus' passengers |
Detour
However, instead of heading to Benson Town, the cabbie took a detour and started moving towards the Bangalore-Mysore highway. Pal did not suspect anything amiss as she was not familiar with the surroundings.
The cabbie stopped the taxi at an isolated place and, along with his associate, took the girls' belongings at knifepoint.
He took away their bags containing a gold ring, three mobile phones, one diamond ring, Rs 4,000 in cash and important documents including a passport.
Stalled
The accused then planned to take the girls to a secluded location with the intention of raping them. However, the taxi developed some technical snag and stalled.
Assuming they had run out of fuel, the accused called up two of their associates and asked them to fetch some fuel.
The associates turned up after 45 minutes with a can of diesel and started passing lewd comments on the girls while the cabbie and his friend poured diesel in the tank.
Courageous act
"I suddenly noticed a bus coming from the opposite direction. I mustered the courage to open the door of the taxi and ran towards the bus to raise an alarm. Sameera joined me in doing so," said Pal, who has since returned to Mumbai.
The cabbie and his friend fled the scene leaving their associates behind "I did not waste time in explaining the situation. The bus driver and the passengers managed to nab the cabbie's accomplices," Pal added.
The passengers beat up the associates before handing them over to the police.
'Investigation on'
Pal filed a complaint with the Gnanabharati police against all the four accused. "Preliminary investigations have revealed that the two caught by the public have been identified as Kumara and Manja. We are trying to locate the duo who managed to escape," said an official from the police station.
