20 lakh worth diamond necklace left in cab

• Driver held for trying to dispose of it

Hyderabad: A cab driver was arrested on Sunday morning on charges of theft by SR Nagar police. Police recovered a diamond necklace, a cell phone and Rs 10,000 cash all worth Rs 20.2 lakh from his possession.

The accused was identified as Erigadindlar Srinivasalu, 31, a resident of Mallapur, employed with Skycabs as a driver. He was arrested by a team of SR Nagar Police under the supervision of Punjagutta ACP M Venkateshwarlu.

Acting on a tip-off, the sleuths nabbed Srinivasalu near Yousufguda Crossroads on Sunday morning based on a complaint filed by Suman Devi Sethi, the customer who took the taxi on September 18 from RGIA to Ameerpet.

During interrogation, Srinivasalu confessed that on September 18 as a part of his duty, he picked Suman from RGIA, Shamshabad in his taxi (AP 09 TVA 2114) and dropped her at Shyam Karam Road in Ameerpet. After leaving the cab, she forgot to take her purse containing a diamond necklace, her phone and cash of Rs 10,000. Srinivisalu also confessed that with mala fide intention after finding the purse he buried it under the rocks on the main road in Tarnaka area and denied having any knowledge of the forgotten articles of Suman when she called him to enquire about the purse.

“Based on his confession, the crime team recovered the stolen property intact from the spot at Metro Rail pillar no 'SINGP-7,” DCP (W) V Satyanarayana said adding that people should check their belongings before leaving cabs, autos and taxis and should also note down the vehicle number before they reach their destination.