Mumbai: An 18-year-old first-year university student has accused three men of kidnapping him in an aggregator cab, driving him around Juhu for 15 minutes, threatening him with a knife and extorting Rs 14,250 before he was let go early on Oct 10. Juhu police registered a case of kidnapping, extortion and robbery against history-sheeters Azad Maniyar (34), Dipesh Chavan (29) and Mondaya Devendra alias Kishan (30) who allegedly forced PA Agarwal into the cab, stole Rs 5,250 from his pocket and compelled him to transfer Rs 9,000 through an e-wallet. They allegedly made Agarwal call his sister before transferring money through UPI.Police caught the three accused at their hideouts in Andheri within 12 hours of the incident involving Agarwal at 1.30 am on Oct 10. “The accused allegedly forced Agarwal into a cab he had booked to return to his PG accommodation, assaulted the driver, forced him inside and sped away. The trio were tracked through technical analysis using the phone number through which money was credited from Agarwal’s account to an e-wallet. Agarwal had earlier gone to drop his aunt’s daughter and her three friends after they had dinner on Oct 9,” said a police officer of the Juhu police station.According to Agarwal’s complaint, three unidentified men allegedly assaulted an Uber driver and forced Agarwal to remain in the car after he dropped his aunt’s daughter and her three friends at a girls’ hostel in Vile Parle (West) around 1.30 am. Agarwal said one man opened the driver’s door, slapped him and questioned where the passengers had come from. The man allegedly told Agarwal there had been a rape at a girls’ hostel in Yenda the previous day and claimed they were union members. Agarwal, who said he was frightened, remained in the car. One of the men, identified by a companion as Azad, allegedly instructed the Uber driver where to drive and took Agarwal around Juhu and other areas. His two companions followed the car on a scooter, the FIR said.Police said Maniyar allegedly threatened Agarwal with a knife near Juhu Ruia Park and forced him to transfer Rs 5,000 to a UPI account. Two accomplices, who had followed them on a scooter, allegedly restrained Agarwal while Maniyar took Rs 5,250 from his trouser pocket. “The group later allegedly forced Agarwal to obtain money from his sister and transfer another Rs 4,000 to the same account. They allegedly threatened to kill him if he disclosed the incident before releasing him near Mithibai College. Agarwal contacted friends and went to lodge a complaint. At the police station, he identified a man detained by patrolling personnel after a fight on VM Road,” said the police.
