New Delhi, (Samajweekly) Delhi Police have arrested two persons for their involvement in a recent snatching incident in Shahdara district which left a woman grievously injured.
The accused have been identified as Manish alias Rishi, and Mohit Gupta alias Kikky, both residents of Patparganj in Delhi.
Manish has been found to a habitual offender with 106 previous involvements in snatching cases. He also carried a reward of Rs 50,000 in a case registered at the Special Police Station.
The incident took place at around 1 p.m. on February 7, when the complainant along with her sister-in-law was going on an e-rickshaw to attend a marriage function.
While they were about to alight, the accused duo riding a motorcycle tried to snatch her handbag. When the victim resisted and held on to her purse firmly, the pillion rider pulled it forcefully, throwing the woman away from the e-rickshaw. She fell down and sustained serious injuries on her head.
“Unfortunately, the victim woman is still critical,” Joint Commissioner of Police, Chhaya Sharma, told IANS.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahdara), R. Sathiyasundaram, said that after the incident, the police had registered a case under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and initiated an investigation.
Furnishing details about the operation, the DCP said that considering the seriousness of the incident, six teams consisting of splecial staff, AATS, narcotics cell and the crack team of Seemapuri police station were tasked to look for technical evidence.
“The CCTV footages of the scene of crime were collected which revealed that the two persons ridingh a Bajaj Pulsar bike committed the crime,” the official said.
The entry and exit routes of the motorcycle were recreated and it was found that after committing the robbery, the accused persons moved towards the East District and then to Vaishali via Delhi-Meerut Expressway.
In a media briefing, Chhaya Sharma specifically stressed on the role of the police team that scanned over 500 CCTV cameras over a stretch of 70 km.
The modus operandi of the criminals and the regular route taken by the accused persons were checked and it was found that they used to target women on foot or e-rickshaws or cycle rickshaws mainly outside malls and on highways. It was further revealed that they usually took the Delhi-Meerut Expressway to travel to different areas.
Keeping in mind the modus operandi, the operations cell of Shahdara district laid a trap on Delhi-Meerut Expressway near the Akshardham temple.
“Finally, the accused duo was spotted going from the Akshardham side towards Sarai Kale Khan. At this point of time, the first police team started chasing them and gave a signal to the second team, which with the help of traffic police blocked the traffic on the expressway with barricades,” the official said.
After seeing the road blocked, the accused persons took a U-turn on the wrong side and started moving towards the Yamuna river bridge. A police Gypsy then hit the motorcycle from behind and after a hustle for around 20 minutes, the duo was nabbed,” the DCP informed.
During interrogation the accused revealed that they had met each other in Tihar Jail in 2016.
“Their involvement in other cases are being investigated,” the official added.
