Bhubaneswar: In an unfortunate incident, a cab driver abandoned a foreign returnee on the roadside last night and fled with his valuables in Bhubaneswar. The accused cab driver identified as Naga (aka Nageswar) Paramanik, was arrested on Thursday morning by Chandrasekharpur Police in connection with the case. A detailed probe into the cheating case is underway.
The incident occurred late last night when victim Aman Kumar Agrawal, who had returned from Thailand, hired a cab. On the pretext of refuelling with CNG at a petrol pump in Chandrasekharpur, the driver asked the passenger to step out of the vehicle. However, taking advantage of the situation, the cab driver fled with a bag containing diamonds, gold jewellery and foreign currency worth around Rs 20 lakh.
Following a complaint, local police launched an investigation and successfully recovered the stolen valuables after arresting the accused. Police officials revealed that the accused driver is a history-sheeter and he has four prior criminal cases registered against him.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Bhubaneswar (Zone-VI), Sonali Singh Parmar, stated that an inquiry will be conducted to examine how a driver with a criminal background was allowed to operate under a private cab service provider.
“When I started the ride, he (the accused) quarrelled with me, and also, he quarrelled on the way with an on-duty staff member at Parking Area. Besides, he told me that he is a murderer and was previously lodged in jail. Even the cabman was driving rashly and had altercations with 3-4 persons,” Aman Agrawal said.
“An OLA cab was booked (by Aman Agrawal) from Bhubaneswar airport to go to Sector 9 (in Cuttack). He was returning from Thailand. The cabdriver asked him (the victim man) to get down from the vehicle for a while. Later, the accused fled from the petrol pump along with his cab with luggage in it,” ACP Parmar stated, when contacted.