Carjacked and out of his job

Cab driver picks up four men on road to earn extra buck on the side, but they assault him and make away with car; employer kicks him out

Carjacked and out of his job

Cab driver picks up four men on road to earn extra buck on the side, but they assault him and make away with car; employer kicks him out

Heu00a0may not be the only one doing it in a city abuzz with cabs contracted by companies to pick up and drop employees, but the desire to earn a few extra bucks on the side by picking up passengers off-the-kerb while on duty cost driver M S Ramkrishna (43) his job.

But first, he had to go through a carjack ordeal. He said his cab was carjacked by four unknown people who flagged it down when he was returning from a trip to Jundahalli Gate to drop some employees of Oracle, the company that hired the transport services of Janani Tours and Travels.

Staying alive

The father of two sons said he earned a low salary at Janani, and to keep his family''s body and soul together he would pick up people when his cab was empty.

"It is a bad time for me. I didn''t expect this to happen in my life," he said. "They beat me for money, but as I didn''t have any, they kicked and punched me and took away my cell phone."

The Tamil-speaking men also took away his mobile phone. He then got into an autorickshaw and reached Madiwala police station.

Hit, steal and run

Ramkrishna, who filed a police complaint, lost his job after the incident as his story revealed he was earning money for himself on his employers'' time.

He said he had picked up the four men around 11.45 pm near the Mratahalli Bridge. Ramkrishna took them into the cab and a few minutes later reached Silk Board junction, where he said he was overpowered. Ramkrishna said he was kicked and punched and finally dumpedu00a0 in Handigoodu, a slum in Madiwala, while the men sped away with the car.