Four arrested for extorting passengers at Nagpur's Ganeshpeth bus stand

Nagpur's Ganeshpeth inter-district bus stand is becoming risky for travellers from outside the city. It is alleged that auto drivers and private travel operators work in collusion and trap passengers on the pretext of helping them. Complaints of misleading passengers, forcing them to buy overpriced tickets, threatening them, assaulting them and extorting money have raised questions about passenger safety and policing at the crowded spot.

Auto drivers reportedly offer to drop passengers arriving at the bus stand at the railway station or elsewhere. It is alleged that instead of taking them to their destination, they take them to private travel offices, where they are surrounded and forced to buy tickets at inflated prices. According to sources, those who refuse are intimidated, assaulted and extorted.

The racket is believed to be far larger than the registered cases suggest, because many victims leave Nagpur without complaining, to avoid wasting time or facing more trouble.

The matter has come up again after recent arrests. Four people have been arrested on charges of assaulting and extorting a group of labourers who had come to Nagpur during the Diwali holidays.

According to the complaint, a man from Bhagwanpur in Bihar and his companions, who work at Mukutban in Yavatmal district, reached the Ganeshpeth bus stand on the evening of November 6. They had to go to the railway station to catch a train to their village.

While they were looking for an auto, a driver approached them and offered to take them to the station. It is alleged that instead he took them to a private travel office in Rahul Complex near Jadhav Chowk, where his associates were already present.

According to police, the passengers were allegedly surrounded, assaulted and threatened with death. They were then forced to buy private bus tickets. The accused allegedly snatched Rs 6,700 in cash and also made one passenger transfer Rs 2,800 online, taking the total extorted to Rs 9,500.

The victims managed to alert the police control room through Dial 112. Police reached the spot and brought both sides to the police station. On the complaint, Ganeshpeth police booked Amar Ingulwar (38), Sheikh Nurul Hasan alias Sheikh Murad Basha (27), Gautam alias Khandaya and an unidentified associate under sections relating to robbery, assault, criminal intimidation and wrongful restraint. All four accused have been arrested.

Zonal DCP Rahul Madne said police have begun strict action against those involved. He said a meeting of auto drivers was recently called, at which they were clearly warned not to harass passengers or engage in any illegal activity.

As a preventive measure, police have deployed a surveillance van with CCTV cameras near the Ganeshpeth bus stand. It will be used to monitor auto movement and allow immediate intervention if passengers are harassed.

Investigators suspect the racket runs on commission, with passengers being sent to travel offices for a cut. Some auto drivers are said to receive money from private travel operators for bringing passengers to their offices. It is alleged that, lured by easy commission, passengers unfamiliar with Nagpur in particular are being targeted through organised pressure and profiteering.

Local residents have also raised questions about the disorder around the bus stand. They allege that autos are parked anywhere and traffic rules are openly flouted. Encroachment, crowding and passenger hardship are described as common there. Questions are being raised over the lack of sustained action despite repeated complaints and the long-standing nature of the problem.