Hyderabad rapido driver demands 30K from customer to deliver laptop, threatens to erase data

Hyderabad: In a shocking incident, a resident of Veer Nagar, Chintal Basthi, Khairatabad, identified as Ashwin Kumar (41), a private employee, fell victim to an extortion attempt by a Rapido bike driver Srimanth. The incident, reported to the Masabtank police, has led to the filing of a case under sections 385, 406, 420 r/w 511 IPC.

According to the police report, Ashwin Kumar had scheduled a ride on the Rapido booking app to transport his laptop from his residence to his office at ICICI Towers, Financial District. On Tuesday, at 9:15 AM, Srimanth, the assigned Rapido driver, arrived at Kumar's home at 9:30 am on a two-wheeler to collect the laptop and make the delivery.

However, the situation took a dark turn when, after a few minutes, Srimanth allegedly called Ashwin Kumar and demanded an exorbitant sum of Rs. 30,000 to ensure the safe delivery of the laptop. Srimanth even threatened to destroy the laptop and erase its data if the demand was not met, Kumar found himself in a distressing predicament.

Attempting to negotiate with the extortionist through WhatsApp, Kumar's efforts proved futile as Srimanth remained unyielding in his demands. Distraught and fearing the loss of his valuable data, Kumar reported the incident to the Masabtank police, who registered a case under relevant sections and currently under investigation.