NRI pays Rs 2,800 for a ten minute drive from Mumbai airport; driver arrested

NRI pays Rs 2,800 for a ten minute drive from Mumbai airport; driver arrested
An NRI businessman from Australia, searching for a taxi at the city’s international airport around midnight, was deceived by a driver who used a fake app to show inflated fare for a 10-minute journey to a hotel in Vile Parle. The driver, Vinod Goswami, managed to swindle Rs 2,800 from D Vijay. Vijay, a resident of Nagpur, only discovered the scam after reaching the hotel and discussing the fare with the staff.
This incident occurred on December 15, and it wasn’t until Vijay lodged a complaint via email that the Sahar police took action, leading to Goswami’s arrest on Tuesday. Vijay shared how the driver approached him at the airport when he was in search of a cab. Despite noticing the prepaid counters, Vijay decided to go with Goswami since they had already interacted. During the ride, when the driver mentioned the fare, Vijay refrained from disputing it, fearing the driver might force him out of the cab.
D Vijay, a 49-year-old NRI visiting India after three years for a family gathering.
“The businessman was taken aback when the driver asked for Rs 2,800 for a short 10-minute journey to a hotel in Vile Parle. Goswami was arrested based on the phone number and car details he provided to Vijay, instructing him to contact him on his next visit to Mumbai,” explained an officer from Sahar police station.
Upon arriving at his hotel, Vijay discussed the fare with the manager. “Upon returning to Nagpur, I filed a complaint via email to the Mumbai police after learning from the hotel staff that their pickup service costs only Rs 700, which was a quarter of what I was charged,” Vijay mentioned.
Vijay mentioned, “It looks like a new cheating tactic involving a fake app that resembles Ola and Uber. People arriving in Mumbai might not know the actual fare. Before I filed a complaint, I asked a friend in Mumbai to verify the mobile number given to me by the accused, who suggested I call him for his services when I arrived in Mumbai, and it turned out to be legitimate. I then shared this information with the police, who arrested him.”
He also suggested that clear signs should be placed outside the airport to protect tourists and noted the absence of a properly staffed help desk at Mumbai airport. In response to the email complaint, Sahar police arrested Goswami within 12 hours and confiscated his vehicle. They also sent undercover officers to monitor the airport area for fraudulent drivers. “In two days, we took action against nine such drivers and seized their vehicles for trying to scam airport passengers,” an officer stated.
The officer stated that fraudulent drivers typically work during late-night to early-morning hours. In the case involving a student on December 17, Sahar police arrested Ritesh Kadam (26) by tracking his vehicle through RTO records. The incident took place when Patil, who was studying in the US, returned home for the holidays. Police confirmed that Kadam’s vehicle was confiscated, and he confessed to targeting the student, thinking that the newcomer wouldn’t report the crime.
The officer mentioned that in both instances, the drivers believed their victims wouldn’t report them to the police. “Many similar incidents have happened before, but victims like Patil or Vijay haven’t gone to the police, which encourages these drivers to scam or rob newcomers to the city,” the officer stated.
Following the arrest of a taxi driver who scammed an NRI by charging him Rs 2,800 for a 10-minute ride, another incident occurred where an autorickshaw driver was apprehended for robbing a 19-year-old student from Sangli, Vishwajeet Patil, of Rs 3,500 on December 17.