Man posing as Uber driver held near Rohini

NEW DELHI: In what can be seen as a major security threat for passengers, a woman had a narrow escape after a phony Uber cab driver allegedly threatened her and locked her inside the taxi. The victim had booked the cab on March 9 from Kundli, Haryana to Sector-3, Rohini, Delhi .

According to deputy commissioner of police  northwest Aslam Khan, Seema (name changed), along the route, became suspicious of the driver as his face did not match with the image provided by Uber on the mobile app.

The woman felt threatened when the accused driver took the vehicle along a secluded route and was making unwanted advances and expressions, the police officer said.

The woman noticed that the cab had a white number plate instead of the yellow one and had tinted glasses and when she tried to get out from the car at a traffic signal, the driver locked the doors using central locking system, Mr Khan said.

Realising that the cab driver was taking a different route than the one she used to usually took to reach for her home, the woman unlocked the door and jumped out of the car when the vehicle slowed down at a CNG station near GTK depot.

The police said that the driver absconded from the spot along with the vehicle. The woman approached the Mahendra Park police station and filed a complaint.

Immediately, a case under Sections 365/354-A/342/506 of the IPC was registered on March 10 and investigation was taken up.

A team was formed and during investigation, the details of vehicles and driver were obtained from Uber and the origin of the vehicle was traced to Janti Kalan village,  Sonepat, Haryana.

The police team reached the village on the intervening night of March 9 and March 10 and searched for the fake Uber vehicle.

Finally, the team traced the vehicle in which one driver was lying in a drunken state.

The man was identified as one Sanjeev, resident of Gannaur, Haryana. He drove the vehicle though he was not registered as a Uber driver.

The police team also found that the vehicle did not have a proper commercial number plate and also Sanjeev did not have a valid driving licence.