A six-man gang has been arrested in connection with the robbery of Rs 52 lakh from a Chandni Chowk-based businessman, Delhi Police said on Sunday, adding that those arrested included a man who looked after vulnerable victims.
The accused have been identified as Samay Singh alias Raju, 38, Vijay, 34, Ghashyam alias Tipu Pandit, 32, Mangal, 36, Amir, 22, and Ranu Prakash Sharma, 35, police said. The police have recovered Rs 40 lakh and investigation is on to recover the remaining amount.
According to the police, Thakur Mahesh, 44, a businessman in Chandni Chowk, boarded an Uber autorickshaw on December 21 with his colleague Krushna and they were leaving Pitampura with a bag containing Rs 52 lakh.
Little did they know that Raju was following them, carefully watching their movements from Kashmere Gate to Pitampura and then to Chandini Chowk, police said. Raju is said to have informed his team about these incidents. Around 5.15 pm, the autorickshaw stopped at a red light near Gulabi Bagh Gurdwara where Raju’s three attendants were waiting. “One of them pointed a gun at Mahesh, the other two slapped him and took the bag. All three then fled in a two-wheeler,” said Raja Banthia, Deputy Commissioner of Police (North).
“The local CCTV footage showed them going towards Laxmi Nagar where they were arrested along with one of their companions,” the DCP said. The three criminals, Vijay, Pandit and Mangal, along with their accomplice Amir, revealed during interrogation that they were carrying out a plan created by Sharma, who is suspected to be the mastermind.
According to the police, Sharma, who was involved in a cheating case, had invested the money in a sweet shop in Jaipur, where he lives.
Raju, an informer of the gang, was arrested on December 27. “He was going to identify the businessmen of Chandni Chowk and nearby areas who might be carrying large sums of money. He would observe their behavior, their clothes, bags, etc, and study their vehicles and times and the things they do not see on their routes,” said DCP Banthia.
The next day, Sharma was caught in Jaipur, the DCP added.
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