Police in Bhubaneswar on Thursday arrested a cab driver for allegedly robbing a passenger who had returned from Thailand just a day earlier. The accused was taken into custody within hours of the complaint, and stolen valuables worth several lakhs were recovered.
The accused has been identified as Nageswar Parmanik (26), a resident of Mahanga in Cuttack district. He was arrested by Chandrasekharpur Police following swift investigation.
How the incident unfolded
The victim, Aman Kumar Agarwal, a resident of Niladri Vihar, arrived at Biju Patnaik International Airport on Wednesday morning after returning from Thailand. He hired an app-based cab to travel home.
According to the complaint, the driver asked Agarwal to step out of the vehicle near the Chandrasekharpur petrol pump, claiming he needed to refill CNG. Once Agarwal got down, the driver allegedly fled with his luggage and valuables.
Huge recovery within hours
Police acted promptly after receiving the complaint and tracked down the accused within a few hours. Addressing the media, ACP (Zone-VI) Sonali Singh Parmar said that gold and diamond jewellery worth around ₹20 lakh, ₹1 lakh in cash, and approximately 50,000 Thai Baht were recovered from Parmanik.
Officials also revealed that the accused had been previously involved in criminal cases.
Action against cab registration
Police said they have written to the concerned taxi aggregator to cancel the accused’s registration. Senior officers added that steps would be taken to ensure Parmanik is not enlisted by any other cab aggregator in the future, stressing the importance of passenger safety.
The incident has raised fresh concerns over safety in app-based taxi services, particularly for passengers travelling with valuables after international journeys.