Bengaluru: A man threatened a cab driver, carjacked his vehicle and went to a five-star hotel for a massage before the police caught him.
Police said Moeed Ali Khan, 25, from Wilson Garden, booked a cab via Namma Yatri around 4 am on August 16.
The cab driver, Ravikumar, 21, picked him up and took him to Marathahalli, Hebbal flyover and Nandi Hills.
When returning, Khan told the driver to stop for breakfast at Hills Drive Cafe, Kanivepura, around 7.30 am. After having breakfast, around 11 am, Khan threatened the cabbie and attempted to grab his phone.
"The suspect used a knife to threaten the cab driver," CK Baba, Superintendent of Police, Bengaluru Rural, told DH.
Ravikumar told the police that Khan took his phone, made the payment after getting his password under duress and transferred Rs 10,000 to his account, as per the FIR. Khan then rode off with the car.
A case was registered by the Doddaballapura Rural police station.
Investigators found that Khan had entered a five-star hotel in central Bengaluru. "He was arrested within a few hours of the registration of the case by our officers as he exited the hotel," Baba said.
He was booked under BNS Section 309(4) (robbery). During questioning, Khan said he was at the spa.
Khan completed his PUC and had a taste of luxury, police said.
Safety advice
According to CK Baba, there is a need for increased safety measures and he said that aggregators should have an SOP during emergencies.
"Tamper-proof in-car cameras with audio should be installed," Baba said. "This will make it safe for both drivers and passengers and deter criminal behaviour."
Baba explained that cabs should be equipped with an emergency SOS system for both drivers and passengers, which can alert the nearest police station and aggregators when the button is pressed.
"When somebody is being threatened, using a phone will only escalate the matter and threaten safety. It is also technologically possible to share the live location when the alert is issued. There is a need for safety training for drivers to recognise suspicious behaviour, in-depth customer verification (verified phone numbers, facial recognition, etc) and geo-fencing for high-risk areas."