Bhubaneswar, Jan 8 (IANS) The Commissionerate Police on Thursday arrested an Ola cab driver on charges of fleeing with valuables worth over Rs 20 lakh belonging to a passenger in Bhubaneswar. The incident took place on the night of January 7, the police said.

The accused has been identified as Nageswar Pramanik, a resident of Kuanpal village under the Mahanga police station area in Cuttack district.

Addressing the media, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Zone VI, Sonali Singh Parmar said a written complaint in connection with the incident was received at the Chandrasekharpur police station on Wednesday.

According to the complaint filed by Aman Kumar Agarwal, a businessman residing in Sector 9 of Cuttack city, he arrived at the Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) in Bhubaneswar from Thailand late on Tuesday evening. He subsequently booked an Ola cab to travel home, with Pramanik driving the vehicle.

While travelling in the cab, Agarwal allegedly spoke to his wife over the phone and inadvertently mentioned the valuable gifts he had brought from Thailand. Police said the driver overheard the conversation and allegedly devised a plan to flee with the valuables.

During the journey, the accused reportedly asked the passenger to deboard the cab at Patia under a pretext. After Agarwal stepped out of the vehicle, the driver allegedly fled from the spot with the passenger’s belongings, including valuables, cash and foreign currency, police said.

The stolen items included a gold chain, a gold bracelet, three gold gemstone rings, diamond earrings, a smartwatch, Indian currency worth around Rs 1 lakh, Thai Baht worth about 50,000, the complainant’s passport, a wallet containing 10–12 credit and debit cards, and other personal belongings, collectively valued at around Rs 20 lakh.

Following the incident, Agarwal lodged a complaint at the Chandrasekharpur police station. Based on the complaint, police registered a case and launched a search operation to trace the accused.

Pramanik was arrested on Thursday and produced before the court, which remanded him to judicial custody.

During the investigation, police also found that the accused was allegedly involved in four other criminal cases registered at different police stations, the ACP said.

–IANS

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