Kharar, July 18: A swift-thinking cab driver foiled an attempted armed robbery by four assailants—one of them a woman—early Thursday morning on the Kharar-Kurali highway. The incident took place around 2.30 am near the Mews Gate Shopping Complex.
Pradeep Kumar, the complainant and driver, said he had accepted a ride request from GBM Apartments, Kharar. Upon arrival, a man and a woman got into the back seat of his cab. Just 100 metres into the trip, after a U-turn towards Chandigarh, Kumar noticed another car closely tailing his vehicle.
“I asked the male passenger about the car following us, and that’s when he suddenly started shouting,” said Pradeep. Moments later, the man pulled out a knife and, with help from his female accomplice, tried to snatch the car keys and cash while ordering Pradeep out of the vehicle. The duo also made an unsuccessful attempt to steal two mobile phones placed on the dashboard.
Realising the threat, Pradeep responded decisively. “I slammed the brakes, reversed hard, and rammed the car chasing us. It threw them off completely,” he recounted. The sudden move startled the attackers and forced all four suspects—including the two in the trailing vehicle—to flee.
Though they managed to steal ₹1,000 from the dashboard before escaping, no major injury or loss was reported.
This is the second such incident reported within a week in the region involving a woman collaborating with male accomplices to target cab drivers, raising concern over a possible pattern.
Police have launched a probe and are scanning CCTV footage from the area to identify the culprits. “We’re working to establish their identities and ensure such acts are swiftly dealt with,” said a senior police official.
