Mumbai Police Arrest Taxi Driver for Cheating American Woman Near Airport

Mumbai, Jan 2026 : In a swift action prompted by a viral social media post, Mumbai Police have arrested a taxi driver for allegedly cheating an American woman by charging her an exorbitant Rs 18,000 for a taxi ride of barely 400 metres near the Mumbai International Airport. The arrest has once again brought the issue of overcharging and harassment of tourists into sharp focus, especially in and around major transit hubs.

The accused has been identified as Deshraj Yadav (50), a permit taxi driver and resident of Sahar Village in Mumbai. According to police officials, the incident took place on January 12, shortly after the victim, Argentina Ariano, arrived in Mumbai from the United States for professional work.

Police said Ariano hired a taxi from the airport to travel to a five-star hotel located very close to the airport premises. Instead of taking her directly to the destination, the driver allegedly drove her around the Andheri (East) area for nearly 20 minutes, deliberately creating the impression of a long and complicated journey. After circling the area, he finally dropped her at a hotel in the same locality and demanded Rs 18,000 as fare for the ride, which in reality covered a distance of less than half a kilometre.

Unaware of the local routes and fare structure, the victim reportedly paid the amount. However, the incident came to public attention nearly two weeks later, on January 26, when Ariano shared a video recounting her experience on social media platform X. In her post, she alleged that she had been scammed soon after landing in Mumbai and also shared the registration number of the taxi involved.

Her post quickly went viral, garnering over one lakh views within hours and triggering widespread outrage among netizens. Many users tagged Mumbai Police and demanded strict action against the driver, citing concerns over tourist safety and the city’s image.

In her post, Ariano wrote: “Landed in Mumbai recently and took a taxi to @HiltonHotels. The driver and another guy took us to an unknown location first, charged us $200 (₹18,000), and then dropped us at the hotel which was only 400m away. Taxi No: MH 01 BD 5405.”

Taking cognisance of the viral post, the Sahar Police immediately initiated an investigation. As the police were unable to establish direct contact with the victim at first, they registered a First Information Report (FIR) suo motu on January 27. The FIR was later updated on January 28 after further verification of details.

The case has been registered under Sections 318(4) (cheating) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Using the taxi registration number mentioned in the social media post, police traced the vehicle to Sahar Village. The taxi, a white Toyota Etios, was seized as part of the investigation.

Police officials said Yadav was arrested within three hours of registering the case. He was subsequently produced before a local court and remanded to judicial custody. During questioning, police also found that the crime involved more than one person.

According to investigators, another individual identified as Taufiq Shaikh was allegedly involved in the incident. While Yadav has been taken into custody, Shaikh is currently absconding. A search operation has been launched to trace and arrest the second accused at the earliest.

Senior police officials stated that the case underlines the growing role of social media in highlighting crimes that might otherwise go unreported. They reiterated that Mumbai Police would take strict action against anyone found cheating or exploiting tourists, especially foreign visitors.

Officials also said further investigation is underway to determine whether the accused were involved in similar incidents in the past or part of a larger racket targeting unsuspecting passengers arriving at the airport.

This is not an isolated incident. In recent months, Sahar Police have registered multiple cases of overcharging by taxi and auto-rickshaw drivers near the airport. On December 24, 2024, Australian NRI businessman D Vijay (49) was allegedly overcharged Rs 2,800 for a 10-minute taxi ride from Mumbai International Airport to a hotel in Vile Parle. Following an email complaint, police arrested the driver, Vinod Goswami (32).

Similarly, on December 14, 2024, Sahar Police arrested auto-rickshaw driver Ritesh Kadam (26) for allegedly charging Rs 3,500 from a 19-year-old US-based student, Vishwajeet Patil, for a journey where the metered fare was only Rs 106.

Police have urged passengers, especially tourists, to use authorised taxi services, insist on metered fares, and report any wrongdoing immediately to authorities to prevent such incidents.

(The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)