Bengaluru: Four Passengers rob Ola cab driver, force his wife to undress for them on video call
Bengaluru, Dec 02: When Ola cab driver Somashekhar got a booking for going to Bengaluru’s Adugodi to Dommasandra on Friday night, little did he know that it would turn out to be the worst experience of his life. The four men who boarded his cab at 10.30pm robbed him off all his money, thrashed him and asked his wife to strip for them on a video call and took screenshots of it.
When the car reached the destination at around 10.30 pm, the passengers asked the driver to drive towards their home. As he drove little distance, the accused attacked him and snatched everything. They even took his car key and started driving.
"They drove the car for around 100 km. They snatched all my money. I had Rs 9,000 in my bank account. But they wanted more and asked me to get it from friends. I had Rs 20,000 rupees in my Paytm account. I called a relative, sent the money to him via Paytm and asked him to transfer the money to my bank account, which these men have withdrawn," said Somashekhar
Four passengers booked the Ola cab to go to Dommasandra from Adugodi, around 22 km, in Bengaluru on Friday night. They boarded the cab at 10.30 pm. While going, they thrashed driver Somashekar, snatched his money and mobile phone and asked his wife to undress for them on a video call. Later, they even took screen shots of the video.
Somashekhar was taken to a lodge in Channapatna in Ramanagara district on Saturday morning. Later, he excused himself to go the washroom and escaped from there by jumping out of the toilet window.
He went to a nearby police station and narrated his ordeal. But by the time Channapatna police reached the spot, the men had fled the scene. A case has been registered at Adugodi police station.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Nine dead as massive fire breaks out in residential building in east Delhi
New Delhi (PTI): A fire ripped through a residential building in east Delhi's Vivek Vihar early Sunday, leaving nine people from two families dead, including a toddler, officials said.
The incident was reported at 3.48 am at a four-storey building in Vivek Vihar Phase-I, following which police, fire and disaster management teams rushed to the spot.
The blaze engulfed flats on the second, third and fourth floors of the building, prompting frantic rescue efforts.
With the terrace door locked, the building occupants found it difficult to escape the leaping flames.
Twelve fire tenders were pressed into service, while teams from the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), traffic police and local police assisted in evacuation and rescue efforts.
The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.
According to the Delhi Fire Service (DFS), nine charred bodies were recovered from different parts of the building. "One body was recovered from the first floor, five from the second floor and three from the staircase which was found locked," a DFS officer said.
ALSO READ: Road crash in Rajasthan leaves woman dead, husband injured
Those killed on the second floor were identified as Arvind Jain (60), his wife Anita Jain (58), their son Nishant Jain (35), daughter-in-law Anchal Jain (33) and grandchild Akash Jain.
On the third floor, three members of another family -- Nitin Jain (50), his wife Shailey Jain (48) and their son Samyak Jain (25) -- were found dead.
On the first floor, a woman identified as Shikha Jain (45) was found dead, while her husband Naveen Jain (48) sustained injuries.
A senior police officer said around 10 to 15 people were rescued from the building during the operation. Two persons with minor injuries were shifted to the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital.
Flames had engulfed large portions of the structure, with thick plumes of smoke spreading across the locality and reducing visibility.
Fire fighters said screams could be heard from those trapped inside the building as they battled for hours to bring the blaze under control.
A firefighter involved in the operation said the intensity of the blaze was significantly higher in the rear portion of the building.
"The fire intensity was higher in the four flats at the rear as compared to the front portion. So far, we have recovered nine bodies and handed them over to Delhi Police. It is difficult to provide details at this stage. The cause of the fire is still under investigation," he said.
He said access constraints worsened the situation.
"Three bodies were found near the terrace level. The access to the roof was locked, and because of this, they could not save their lives. If it had not been locked, they might have survived," he said.
"There is a central staircase which serves as both entry and exit. The rear side gate was covered with a grille, due to which we had to cut it using tools to carry out rescue operations. We deployed five ladders from different sides and also used a turntable ladder vehicle to rescue around 15 people," the firefighter added.
Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu and Chief Minister Rekha Gupta condoled the loss of lives in the fire tragedy, and said immediate medical assistance and relief are being provided to the affected people.
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva along with Union Minister of State Harsh Malhotra, local MLA Sanjay Goel, Councillor Pankaj Luthra and BJP Shahdara district president Deepak Gaba, met the bereaved families around 10 am and extended condolences to them on behalf of the ruling party.
The BJP leader said Goel reached the spot within minutes of receiving the information and helped save 18 to 20 people while monitoring the rescue operations.
While talking to reporters, Malhotra described the incident as extremely tragic.
Lauding the prompt response of the fire brigade and police personnel, Malhotra said due to their timely action, around 20 people were rescued.
