Noida, 16 August

A cab driver has been arrested after he held a family "hostage" during their ride as Noida Police chased the speeding car for deliberately jumping barricades, officials said on Saturday.

PCR sirens blaring in the background, a four-year-old frightened girl crying and her parents pleading the driver to stop the vehicle -- showed a video of the nerve-racking incident recorded by the family.

Noida Phase 3 Police said the accused has been arrested and two Aadhaar cards were found from his possession -- one in the name of ‘Nasim’ and another ‘Sonu’.

On Thursday at around 1.30 pm, Sanjay Mohan booked a cab for Delhi’s Connaught Place from his home in Greater Noida.

Mohan, his wife and their four-year-old daughter sat in the cab and started their ride. However, at Parthala bridge in Noida, police signaled the driver to stop but he sped off, jumping the barricades, the police said.

Stunned by the driver’s sudden move, the couple requested him to stop the car and drop them off. However, he ignored and began driving rashly for several kilometers to escape the PCR van chasing him, they said.

The couple kept pleading and when the driver managed to outrun the police team, he stopped the vehicle for barely a few seconds at TP Nagar. As soon as the family got down, he fled, they said.

The entire incident was recorded by the family. It surfaced on social media on Friday, prompting officials to identify and nab the accused, the police said.

Central Noida DCP Shakti Mohan Awasthy said, "A viral video of rash driving of a cab driver went viral on 14 August. Police registered a case against him at Phase 3 Police Station and later the driver identified as Nasim was arrested from Sahara cut.”

“The Wagon R has been seized and a challan of Rs 29,500 was issued," he said.

According to Mohan, his wife suffered minor injuries in her hand.

A case has been registered against the accused under BNS sections 137 (2) (kidnapping), 127 (2) (wrongful confinement), 281 (rash driving), 319 (cheating by personation, 318 (4) (cheating), 336 (2) (forgery), 338 (forgery of valuable security) and others at Phase 3 Police Station, they said.