Mumbai: The Sahar police have arrested a 49-year-old taxi driver for allegedly threatening police officers posing as decoy passengers and demanding an inflated fare during a special drive against taxi and auto-rickshaw drivers fleecing passengers outside Mumbai International Airport.
The accused, identified as Warisali Sayuddin Shaikh, allegedly agreed to ferry the decoy passengers to Borivali for Rs 550 on June 25. However, after driving a short distance, he allegedly demanded Rs 800 and threatened the passengers when they objected. Police have registered a case of extortion, seized his taxi and sent his driving licence for suspension.
According to police, the operation was part of a special crackdown launched by Sahar police to curb the growing menace of taxi and auto-rickshaw drivers charging exorbitant fares and intimidating passengers, particularly tourists and air travellers.
In his complaint, Police Constable Devidas Sonawane, 56 said he, along with Constable Akshay Borate and two panch witnesses, was posing as a passenger near Hyatt Signal outside the airport when Shaikh approached them and offered a taxi to Borivali for Rs 550 without an official booking.
Sonawane said the driver initially asked them to board the taxi but, after travelling some distance, turned back and insisted they first complete a booking. When the decoy passenger questioned the change, the driver allegedly became aggressive and demanded Rs 800, warning, "Pay silently, otherwise I will see you." Police said the threatening behaviour created fear among the passengers.
Acting on a prearranged signal from Sonawane, a police team that was following the taxi intercepted the vehicle and arrested Shaikh.
"This is the second such incident in less than 48 hours. These drivers bypass the official airport taxi queue, target passengers directly and extort money by demanding inflated fares," a Sahar police officer said.
Earlier, on June 23, Sahar police arrested an auto-rickshaw driver, Mohammed Aslam Sheikh, 45, in a similar extortion case during the same enforcement drive.
The crackdown was intensified after an incident in January in which two taxi drivers allegedly charged a woman tourist from the United States 200 US dollars for a 400-metre ride from Mumbai International Airport to her hotel. Police said stringent action, including extortion charges, would continue against drivers found threatening or cheating passengers.
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