The Powai Police have arrested two men who robbed people at knifepoint using a unique modus operandi of making them wire money on an e-payment platform.
Recently, two IIT Bombay students were similarly duped on separate occasions last month, said police. The arrested duo has been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code for robbery and common intention charges.
According to police, the first incident that came to light had occurred on January 29, when the complainant, a 26-year-old student at Powai's Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, was waiting for a few of his friends behind Hotel Renaissance in Powai. The complainant was then approached by two men, who held him at knifepoint and robbed him of ₹700 in cash.
Moreover, even after paying up, the duo held him at knifepoint again and asked him to wire them ₹5,000 on GooglePay before fleeing from the spot.
The complainant immediately approached Powai Police and lodged a complaint, acting on which a case was registered and a probe was initiated.
Maheshwar Reddy, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 10) said that teams swung into action and investigated the GooglePay number where the money was wired.
After a primary probe, the number was traced to the 19-year-old Ayush Rajbhar to the NITIE area, following which he was questioned and confessed to his crime.
The accused also spilled the beans on his accomplice, Satish Yadav (21), who was arrested from the same locality. Police have also recovered the knife and the robbed amount from the arrested duo.
Stating further, DCP Reddy said that after details of the incident spread across the IIT Bombay campus, another student approached the Powai Police and said he was duped to the tune of ₹18,500, of which ₹18,000 was taken from GPay on the evening of January 26. Subsequently, the arrested duo was booked in a separate case at Powai.
