The East District Police busted an organised robbery gang targeting unsuspecting passengers outside railway stations and Inter-State Bus Terminals (ISBTs) by luring them into shared taxi rides. Four alleged members of the gang have been arrested by the staff of Patparganj Industrial Area police station, leading to the detection of four robbery cases.

The police have recovered a car used in the robberies, a stolen mobile phone and Rs 3,800 in cash. The accused have also disclosed their involvement in more than a dozen other robbery incidents, which are being verified.

According to the police, the gang members posed as taxi drivers and offered shared rides to passengers waiting outside railway stations and bus terminals. Once the passengers boarded their vehicle and it travelled some distance, the accused robbed them of their cash, mobile phones and other valuables. In some cases, they also forced victims to transfer money through UPI from their bank accounts.

The case came to light on November 2, when a passenger approached the police alleging that he had been robbed after accepting a shared taxi ride outside ISBT Anand Vihar. The complainant was offered a ride to Kapashera Border. However, shortly after boarding the vehicle, the driver and two other occupants allegedly robbed him of his belongings and forced him to transfer Rs 7,000 through UPI.

Following the complaint, an FIR was registered at Patparganj Industrial Area police station under Sections 307/3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and an investigation was initiated.

Considering the increased movement of passengers during the festive season, the East District Police constituted a special team to identify and apprehend the suspects. The team, comprising SI Satender Yadav, SI Anshul Khokhar, ASI Ajit Kumar, ASI Arjun Singh, HC Kaushender, HC Sunil Kumar Sharma and HC Anil Kumar, worked under the leadership of the Station House Officer and the supervision of the ACP, Madhu Vihar.

During the investigation, police examined dozens of CCTV camera recordings and analysed the routes allegedly used by the gang. Another similar robbery was reported in the area on November 5, which further strengthened the suspicion that the same gang was involved.

Investigators subsequently identified one of the suspects as a resident of Khoda Colony in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. Acting on specific Intelligence that the suspects would arrive in the locality in their taxi between 11 p.m. and midnight, the police laid a trap.

At around 11:45 p.m. on November 5, three suspects, identified as Veer Singh (35), Kishanpal (37) and Vijay alias Monu (40), were apprehended along with the Aura car used in the crimes. The fourth accused, Vikas alias Kalia (31), was subsequently arrested during further investigation.

The police said the accused withdrew money extorted through UPI transactions in cash from petrol pumps and CNG stations to facilitate its disposal.

The arrested accused have been identified as Veer Singh, a resident of Sambhal; Kishanpal, a resident of East Vinod Nagar, Delhi; Vijay alias Monu, a resident of Khoda Colony, Ghaziabad; and Vikas alias Kalia, a resident of Khora village, Ghaziabad. Vijay is previously involved in three criminal cases.

With their arrest, police have claimed to have worked out four cases registered on June 14, July 18, November 2 and November 6, 2026, at Patparganj Industrial Area police station.

Bengaluru : A cab driver arrested for allegedly killing seven members of his wife’s family in Bengaluru has told police that he committed the gruesome crime following years of mental harassment by his wife and her family members, police said on Friday. The accused, Indushekar, allegedly claimed during interrogation that his wife had harassed him for nearly 20 years and that her family members had always supported her. He reportedly narrated incidents of alleged mental harassment over a long period while being questioned by the police. The shocking incident has sent shockwaves across Karnataka, with seven members of the same family, including the accused’s wife, a child, his mother-in-law and other relatives, allegedly murdered over a period of about 15 days. Indushekar, a cab driver, was arrested by the Rajajinagar police in connection with the case.

The deceased have been identified as his wife Suneeta, brothers-in-law Shivakumar and Shankar, Shivakumar’s wife Divya, their son Puneeth, Shankar’s wife Nalini and his mother-in-law Roopavathi. According to the police investigation, the accused allegedly invited the family members to his rented house on the pretext of hosting a meal of mutton dishes. He allegedly mixed sleeping tablets in the food and, after the victims became unconscious, attacked them using a grinding stone and other means. Police sources said the accused transported the bodies in his car and disposed of them at different locations. The accused had been living in a rented house near Bhashyam Circle for the past eight years. He had also reportedly filed a case against the owner of the building. During interrogation, Indushekar allegedly told police that he and his wife frequently quarrelled and that she treated him as a “useless man”. He also allegedly claimed that her family members always supported her during their disputes. However, family members of the victims have rejected his claims and raised questions over the killing of the other relatives.

“If he was unhappy with his wife, why did he want to kill the others?” family members asked, alleging that the murders could have been motivated by a property dispute. According to the family members, they received a message stating that the family was going on a three-day trip to the Hogenakkal area and that there was no need for them to worry. As the message came during the Dasara festival period, they initially did not suspect anything. The relatives said they waited until last Thursday and repeatedly tried to contact the family, but their calls went unanswered. When they went to Indushekar’s house, they found it locked. Police are also examining the circumstances surrounding messages allegedly sent to the victims’ relatives to create the impression that the family had gone on a trip.

The accused’s daughter had also allegedly called other family members to her house, saying that she wanted to have good food as her mother had gone on a trip. The case came to light after family members became suspicious about the prolonged absence of the victims. During questioning, Indushekar allegedly gave contradictory statements, following which police searched his residence and reportedly found clues linked to the murders. The body of Puneeth was recovered near Nandi Hills in Chikkaballapur district after police took the accused to the area for a search operation. Efforts are continuing to trace the bodies of the remaining victims. Police have also seized the car allegedly used to transport the bodies. Investigators are examining the complete sequence of events, including the alleged motive behind the killings. Senior police officers are supervising the investigation, and a special team has been formed to trace the remaining bodies and collect evidence. Further investigation is underway.

In a setback to controversial Mumbai ex-cop Sachin Vaze, the Bombay High Court on Thursday cancelled bail granted to him by a lower court in the 2021 Antilia bomb-scare and Mansukh Hiran murder cases.

A bench of Justices Girish Kulkarni and Neela Gokhale passed the order while accepting an appeal filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), against the September 29 order of a special court granting bail to Vaze.

“The impugned order of the special court is quashed and set aside. The appeal by the NIA is allowed,” the High Court order said.

Vaze is an accused in the Antilia bomb scare case, wherein an SUV laden with explosives was recovered near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s Mumbai residence in February 2021.

Hiren was one of a possible witness in the case who was later found murdered.

The High Court had earlier imposed an interim stay on the bail granted to the former Assistant Police Inspector Vaze by the Special NIA Court, resulting in Vaze remaining in judicial custody in Thane Central Prison where he has been lodged for the past five years.

The NIA had opposed the controversial dismissed cop’s bail, claiming that Vaze could tamper with witnesses and destroy evidence.

“He (Vaze) was earlier charged in a fake encounter case. He was a police officer who had the duty of protecting the public. But he himself indulged in criminal activities where he not just tried to instill fear and terror but he murdered a person,” the NIA’s lawyer said.

Earlier while hearing the NIA’s appeal in October, the High Court expressed surprise over Vaze’s lifestyle, including the use of high-end cars.

The bench also flagged Vaze’s extended stay of about 100 days in a room booked at the Oberoi hotel, asking how an officer of the rank of Assistant Police Inspector could afford to drive high-end vehicles.

The High Court said that these aspects of Vaze’s financial situation, conduct, and professional record were relevant to assessing the charges against him.

Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, representing the NIA, shared with the High Court witness statements that mentioned that Vaze used expensive and luxury vehicles while he was an Assistant Police Inspector.

During the hearing, Anil Singh read out a witness statement, which said that Vaze travelled in a black Mercedes and asked those accompanying him to turn off their mobile phones.

The court then asked whether the Mercedes belonged to Vaze and whether there was any evidence that the vehicle was registered in his name.

After the NIA responded in the affirmative, the court asked whether it was normal for an Assistant Police Inspector to own such an expensive car.

The court remarked, “Since we have not yet seen an Assistant Police Inspector driving a Mercedes…”

The court also sought information from the NIA regarding Vaze’s other vehicles and reviewed a list of five vehicles he used while serving as Assistant Police Inspector.

This list included a white BMW, a black Volvo, a white Mercedes, a white Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, and another black Mercedes.

Seeing the number of vehicles, the court said, “He (Sachin Vaze) owns five vehicles…”

The court noted that, according to statements submitted by the NIA, Vaze travelled in a high-end Mercedes to the Mumbai Police Commissioner’s office and the Maharashtra Chief Minister’s residence, ‘Varsha’.

NIA’s lawyer Anil Singh also told the court that Vaze had stayed at a seven-star hotel in South Mumbai for around 100 days.

The court asked how a police officer, earning a monthly salary of around Rs 90,000 at the time, could afford such an expensive lifestyle.

The NIA said that these vehicles owned and used by Vaze are being linked to alleged extortion in the case.