3 men who robbed elderly couple in Delhi’s New Seemapuri arrested: Police

Police said the elderly couple was known to respond to requests from customers at odd hours, information that was used by the suspects to enter the premises past midnight

NEW DELHI: Three of the five men who robbed an elderly couple at their house in northeast Delhi’s New Seemapuri on January 18 have been arrested, police said on Tuesday. Two of their associates are still on the run but they will be caught soon, a senior police officer said.

Shahdara DCP Surendra Choudhary said three men, , were arrested in connection with the dacoity case registered by Seema Puri police station (Photo: Delhi Police)

Their victims, Jitesh Chandra Shah, 67, and his 64-year-old wife, ran a grocery shop on the ground floor of the house in the New Seemapuri area and lived on the first floor. Police said they were known to respond to requests from their customers at odd hours, information that was used by the suspects to enter the premises at about 12.30am on January 18.

One of the five suspects knocked on the main gate of the couple’s house, posing as a customer. The man told them that he needed to buy a packet of cigarettes and some snacks.

“As soon as they opened the gate, four masked men barged into the house. One of them was armed with a pistol, another with a knife,” a police officer said. “They threatened to kill them if they raised an alarm. Thereafter, they ransacked the entire house, taking away ₹13,000 cash, a gold chain, a pair of gold earrings, and two mobile phones. Before leaving, the robbers locked the couple inside a room,” said the officer.

A second police officer familiar with the investigation said the police station staff collected footage from more than 50 CCTV cameras around the time of the dacoity and was able to trace the movement of the suspects before and after the crime.

The officer said they were able to put a face to the suspects. It was also clear that the suspects were also from the New Seemapuri area. “We circulated their photos among their informers. Within hours, the suspects were identified,” he said.

“Toshif Khan alias Toshib, 23, was the first one to be arrested with a pistol and two cartridges. His interrogation led to the arrest of Mohammad Sajid alias Tota and Karruddin Khan alias Taki, along with the knife and ₹6,130 from the money robbed from the Shah family, said deputy commissioner of police (Shahdara) Surendra Choudhary.

“Toshib is previously involved in five crimes while one case was registered against Sajid in the past. Our teams are making efforts to nab the remaining absconding suspects in the dacoity case,” said Choudhary.

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