‘Bunty-Babli’ duo arrested for snatching cases in south Delhi

A couple, Vishal Gupta and Shivani Murmu, were arrested in Delhi for snatching phones and jewelry from pedestrians in crowded areas.

A 25-year-old man and his 23-year-old partner have been arrested for allegedly targeting pedestrians and snatching their belongings in south Delhi’s Malviya Nagar and Hauz Khas.

The two were arrested on Tuesday, a day after a phone snatching was reported in Hauz Khas.

According to police,Vishal Gupta and Shivani Murmu would target people in crowded places such as flyovers, markets, and parks and snatch their mobile phones and jewellery before fleeing on a motorcycle.

The two –- named Bunty and Babli by the investigators due to the parallels with the film –- were arrested on Tuesday, a day after a phone snatching was reported in Hauz Khas.

The complainant Rohit Singh, 29, a resident of Sonipat in Haryana, reported that his mobile phone was snatched on March 9 by a man and a woman who arrived on a motorcycle from Malviya Nagar side and sped towards the Chirag Delhi flyover.

After analysing the CCTV footage from nearby areas, investigators said they spotted the two accused. “We had seen similar suspects’ involvement in other cases. It was found that after the crime, the accused took the bike to his home in Tigri Extension,” a senior police officer said.

Police ar checking their previous records of snatching. Till now, Gupta has been found to be involved in seven such cases.

“Gupta was apprehended from his residence and the motorcycle was recovered. During interrogation, he disclosed the involvement of Shivani Murmu, who was then arrested on Friday,” deputy commissioner of police (south) Anant Mittal said.