A 50-year-old taxi driver has been arrested for charging Rs 18,000 from an American tourist to travel a distance of 400 meters in Mumbai. Police gave this information on Friday. Police on Tuesday arrested Deshraj Yadav, who had picked up the tourist in his taxi at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport and dropped him at a five-star hotel near the airport, an official said. The incident came to light when the tourist shared the experience of his expensive trip to the city on social media.
A tourist named Argentina Ariano wrote in a post on 'X', 'Recently reached Mumbai and took a taxi to go to the hotel. The driver and another person first took us to an unknown place. They took $200 (Rs 18,000) from us and then dropped us at the hotel, which is only 400 meters away.
please help @MumbaiPolice @CPMumbaiPolice #india @MTPHereToHelp #scam @TimesNow @tourismgoi @TOIIndiaNews @mybmc https://t.co/oIg9MeixNI pic.twitter.com/TqvaztFChB
— Argentina Ariano (@ArgentinaAriano) January 26, 2026
Acting immediately, the police took suo motu cognizance earlier this week and registered an FIR. Yadav was arrested within three hours. However, the officer said that the foreign national could not be contacted. Investigation revealed that the taxi driver, after driving the woman around Andheri East for 20 minutes, took her back to the same area and dropped her at a hotel and charged increased fare. Police said that the search for Yadav's accomplice is going on.
The officer said that a case has been registered against Yadav under relevant sections of the Indian Justice Code (BNS) and the process of canceling his driving license has been initiated.
DCP (Zone VIII) Manish Kalwania said Sahar police supervised senior inspector Manoj Chalke and his team, who collected information about the hotel where the foreign woman stayed. It was revealed that she had checked-in on January 12, checked-out the next day and went to Pune, from where she returned to America.
He said that we are trying to take the statement of the victim. He did not inform the hotel staff about this incident. He said that we have repeatedly told people that if any tourist feels that the cab driver is overcharging them, then they should contact the hotel or local authority.
