Delhi school teacher mastermind of ₹50L robbery at Red Fort

A social science teacher in Delhi and his associates allegedly impersonated traffic police, intercepted a car, and stole ₹50 lakh ($69,000) from it. Two suspects have been arrested, while the teacher and two others remain on the run. The teacher is believed to be the mastermind behind the crime. Police are conducting raids to apprehend the remaining suspects.

A social science teacher at a government-aided school in north Delhi, along with his associates, allegedly impersonated the Delhi traffic police personnel, intercepted a car and stole ₹50 lakh from it near Salimgarh flyover near Red Fort on September 11, the Delhi Police said on Friday, adding that two people have been arrested in the case.

Hazaribagh , India - April 29, 2019:(FILE PHOTO) Cash 22 lakh seized from a room of A K International hotel booked by Congress candidate Gopal Sahu in Hazaribagh , India, on Monday, April 29, 2019. (Photo / Hindustan Times) (Representative image)

Police identified the teacher as Harender, who, along with two unidentified suspects, is on the run. The two arrested suspects were identified by the police as Mahender Kumar, 21 and Sandeep Kumar, 34. Sandeep impersonated the traffic police personnel, police said.

Police said that Harender was the mastermind behind the crime and has kept the stolen cash to himself by telling his partners that he would distribute the money later.

“Raids are ongoing to arrest Harender and two other identified suspects,” said special commissioner (crime branch) Ravindra Singh Yadav.

The incident happened around 4.45pm on September 11 when an assistant accountant working with a paan masala company was bringing the money from Kucha Ghasi Ram market in Chandni Chowk to the company office in Moti Nagar in west Delhi.

The victim, in his complaint, said that a man wearing the Delhi Traffic Police uniform and accompanied by another man on a motorcycle intercepted his Hyundai Venue car. The two were carrying a wireless set, a hand-held metal detector and a pair of handcuffs as well. Shortly, two others arrived on a second motorcycle.

The victim stopped his car and on the pretext of checking the car for a “traffic violation”, the man in the uniform asked for the boot to be opened, where the cash was kept, while his associates stole the money. The victim said that all four suspects wore face masks bearing the Delhi Police logo along with helmets.

The crime branch took up the investigation and a case of cheating by impersonation was registered at IP Estate police station. “Since the suspects had masked themselves and used stolen motorcycles they abandoned after the crime, we had to carry out a technical analysis of the entire route taken by the victim. That helped us zero in on the phones used along that route around that time,” said Yadav.

Police conducted multiple raids in Delhi, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh and arrested Mahender from Alwar and Sandeep from Greater Noida over the past couple of days. “Their interrogation led us to Harender,” said the officer.

The information about the money being moved allegedly came from the driver of the car in which the victim was travelling, said Yadav. “The driver is being questioned,” he added.