Conman befriends taxi driver, steals his car

Bhavnagar-based taxi driver had known the accused for just two days after arriving in the city

A 52-year-old taxi driver from Bhavnagar, who had come to Ahmedabad in search of livelihood, was robbed of his biggest possession - his rented car - by a person he had befriended recently in the city.

Before coming to Ahmedabad, Momin Gaha, who made his living driving cars in Bhavnagar, had rented a Maruti Eeco car from his friends. He drove to the city on August 24 and stayed at a dormitory near Geeta Mandir.

One Yogendrakumar Solanki also arrived at the dormitory and the two befriended each other. On September 1 as it was raining, Solanki asked Gaha for his car keys so that he could park it under a shed. Gaha agreed to it and gave Solanki his car keys. Solanki parked Gaha's car at a distance and handed back his keys.

Post dinner, which the two had together, Gaha found his keys missing. On checking the CCTV footage of the dormitory, he found that Solanki had taken away his car. Solanki had left behind his bag which contained some documents that stated his address in Vejalpur. When Gaha failed to locate Solanki, he filed a complaint with Kagadapith police.

Talking to Mirror, Gaha said, "As there was no work back home, I came to Ahmedabad with big hope. It seems Solanki eyed the car right from the beginning he came to stay at the dormitory. I had befriended him for just two days when he ran away with the car." Kagadapith PI M A Sinh said, "We tracked Solanki's residence in Vejalpur. Inquiry revealed that he had vacated it. Investigations are on in the case." AM