Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar
A rickshaw driver who robbed an 80-year-old passenger has been arrested by the Crime Branch, exposing yet another case of drivers turning to crime in the city.
The accused, identified as Shafiq Khan of Prabuddhanagar near Panchakki, already faces previous cases, police said. On August 18, Vitthal Labhashetwar (80, Vedantnagar), hired Shafiq’s rickshaw from Goldie Cinema to Chikhali Urban Bank in Pundliknagar. After Labhashetwar finished his work and came out, Shafiq allegedly forced him back into the rickshaw. Pretending the vehicle had broken down, he asked for the victim’s phone to “check the wiring” with its torch. He then staged a repair, promised to fetch help from a garage, and fled with the mobile. Pundliknagar police registered a case. Acting on a tip-off, police sub-inspector Vishal Bodkhe and his team laid a trap near Ramleela Maidan on Sunday night and nabbed Shafiq with the rickshaw and stolen phone. Police also found that on the same day he had snatched another phone at City Chowk but quickly returned it after being identified.