Representative image

BENGALURU: In a first-of-its-kind incident in the city, a 37-year-old Rapido bike taxi captain (rider) was abducted and robbed of his valuables by three men when he went to pick up one of them, who was posing as a customer.

The incident took place around 12.30am on Monday near Kudlu Ggate, off Hosur Road. According to police, Dhaneshwar Bey, a resident of Hebbagodi in Electronics City, rode Rapido bike taxis .

Dhaneshwar picked up a customer from MG Road around 11.30pm on Sunday and reached the destination near Kudlu Gate around 12.25am. Within a minute, he received another ride alert and the pick-up point was only 400 metres away.

When Dhaneshwar reached the spot, the customer insisted he come a bit ahead. As the rider reached the poorly lit location, three men armed with knives approached him and stabbed him on the left side of his neck and robbed his mobile phone, purse and power bank. They abducted him on the same vehicle and took him to a place where the accused consumed alcohol.

They made Dhaneshwar squat on the ground and punched him on the face mercilessly. Later, one of them took his debit card and asked for its PIN, which Dhaneshwar gave away fearing for his life. One of the accused took away the card and withdrew Rs 500. They got Dhaneshwar to transfer to them the Rs 160 had in his Google Pay account.

Around 2.45am, Dhaneshwar somehow managed to escape from the abductors’ clutches. The accused chased him but gave up after a few street dogs began to bark. Dhaneshwar hid in a residential compound and later ran into patrolling police personnel on a nearby road and told them about his ordeal.

Police rushed Dhaneshwar to Blossom hospital. He told cops his assailants appeared to be aged between 20 and 30 and spoke in Kannada.

Parappana Agrahara police said they have registered a case under IPC 397 (robbery or dacoity with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt) and have launched a manhunt for the accused.

According to the transport department, Rapido bike taxis are illegal as there’s no legal framework for their operations. In the past, the department has seized many vehicles attached to the firm.

Will provide legal aid to him: Firm

A Rapido spokesperson said, “Though we provide emergency option to both the rider and customer, unfortunately in this incident, the rider could not raise alarm. We are helping out police with all the information we have about the customer who booked the ride and have shared the location details too. We will provide legal assistance to the rider who was injured in the incident. He also has insurance from the company.”

