New Delhi, June 6: In a startling case from the national capital region (NCR), the first woman auto rickshaw driver of Delhi has been looted by another auto driver. The victim, 40-year-old Sunita Chaudhary, was robbed of Rs 30,000 in Ghaziabad while she was returning from her native place in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut.

The incident of theft came to light on Tuesday, when Sunita registered a case at the Sahibabad police station shortly after being looted at Ghaziabad highway enroute Anand Vihar. Gujarat: Chain Snatchers to Face Upto 10 Years of Imprisonment; President Approves Legislation

The police had registered an FIR under IPC section 379 (theft) and also provided an amount to Sunita to complete her commute back to her residence in Delhi's Khirki Extension.

Officials privy to the case have revealed that Sunita, as per her claim, had boarded a bus from Meerut and deboarded it at Mohan Nagar stop in Ghaziabad.

Subsequently, she took a sharing rickshaw for Anand Vihar in which three passengers were already seated. Due to shortage of space, Sunita was asked to keep her baggage in the space behind the seat.

Enroute, the driver stopped the vehicle citing a technical fault. Sunita also got out of the rickshaw and tried look into why the rickshaw had halted.

After several minutes, he allegedly told Sunita to take another rickshaw, claiming that his vehicle has turned dysfunctional. No sooner, one of the passengers seated behind handed over Sunita her baggage.

Unaware that the cash inside her bag has been removed, Sunita moved onto other side of the road and began looking for another rickshaw. Immediately after she distanced away, the driver started his rickshaw and sped away.

Sensing something fishy, Sunita checked her bag and found the packet containing Rs 30,000 missing.

The Sahibabad police station, which is probing the case, is investigating the involvement of a new racket as this modus operandi was used for the first time to carry out loot in the region. The gangs earlier involved in robbing passengers used sharp-edged weapons to intimidate commuters and extract money and valuables from them, said a police official.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 06, 2019 11:09 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).