4 held, car seized after Tripura bizman robbed on EM Bypass

KOLKATA: A 51-year-old man, who hails from Tripura and owns guest houses in Kasba and Anandapur, was allegedly robbed of cash and valuables while travelling in a shuttle car on EM Bypass in the wee hours of December 25. After a nine-day probe, cops arrested four persons, Raju Majhi (32), Santosh Poddar (24), Sk. Biki (25) and Arpan Sen (32), residents of Picnic Garden and Tiljala.The car used by the gang for the robbery was also seized.
The victim, Anjan Biswas, also co-owner of a musical band performing at some pubs off EM Bypass, alleged that the four had offered him a lift from outside a pub near Panchannagram off Bypass around 2am. He boarded the car to be dropped at his house in Kasba’s Narkel Bagan. As the car reached Laskarhaat near Bypass, one of the passengers got down on the pretext of attending to nature’s call. While boarding the car, he requested the victim to sit in the middle of the car’s rear seat. When the car started moving, other passengers blindfolded the victim forcefully, compelling him to lie down on the floor of the car.
“The accused pulled away his gold chain and Rs 25,000 cash that he was carrying with him. They took his ATM card and forced him to share the password. Subsequently, they withdrew Rs 40,000 more from an ATM kiosk. The complainant could not see it as he was blindfolded. Finally, they dropped the victim at Dhalai Bridge near Garia after an hour and fled in the car,” said DCP (southeast) Sudip Sarkar.
However, the incident has again exposed the risks of taking lifts at night. “We want to remind people that taking such lifts, especially those opting for shared rides, at night can invite trouble,” said a divisional commissioner.
Cops said they used CCTV footage on EM Bypass to identify the car and then nabbed the accused. “We took technical support and used local sources to trace the accused,” said an officer. Hundreds of office-goers travel to and from Sector V, Bantala and various areas off EM Bypass to various parts of the city in shuttle cars everyday, though the trend has dipped since the advent of app-based taxis, bikes and buses. Cops have asked the passengers to be careful while taking such rides.