Auto drivers held for robbing bar patrons

MUMBAI: Two auto drivers, Omprakash and Rakesh Tiwari, and a woman, Kavita Pillai, have been arrested for robbing men walking out of bars along the highway at Kashimira in Mira Road.
The woman Kavita Pillai, a resident of Naigaon was used as a bait to trap men as they left the bars in an inebriated state. Drivers Omprakash Tiwari (36), a resident of Naigaon and Rakesh Tiwari, residing in Poisar, Kandivli (west) has been arrested under sections 328 and 379 of the IPC.
Omprakash and Rakesh waited outside bars on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway at Kashimira on the pretext of plying customers. After a customer hired the auto, they would get into a conversation. The auto driver would then boast of supplying girls to the victim.
If the victim fell into their trap, they would telephone Pillai who would be waiting at a distance. The victim would be convinced to have a drink which would be spiked. They would then rob the victim of his cash, jewellery and belongings.
If a customer refused to share a drink, Pillai would threaten to scream 'rape', forcing the victim to part with his cash and belongings. The victim would then be dropped at an isolated location on the highway.
The Kashimira police formed a squad to nab the case after a victim approached the police on June 6. The victim, a resident of Vasai, had visited an orchestra bar at Kashimira.
The auto driver offered to drop him to his home. After the victim got into the auto, the accused drivers along with Pillai looted cash and jewellery worth Rs 1.20 lakhs. He lodged a complaint with Kashimira police.
Acting on a tip-off the police laid a trap near Millennium 2000 bar at Kashimira. The drivers fell into the police trap. They have been remanded to police custody.