Delhi: Snatcher held for targeting two politicians at Connaught Place

The two women, from Bihar and Jharkhand, were targeted by the accused in the inner and outer circles of CP in the gap of half an hour

A 29-year-old man was arrested on Thursday for snatching the mobile phone of a woman politician on October 23 in Connaught Place. Police said his attempt to snatch the phone of a second woman politician, half an hour later the same night, was foiled.

According to police data, Delhi reported 5,108 snatching cases till October 15 this year -- 851 more than the number reported during the same period in 2020. (Picture for representation only)

Police said the man allegedly snatched the mobile phone of Nutan Singh, national chief general secretary (women’s wing) of Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (Union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras’s faction), while she was in the outer circle with five people, including her husband Neeraj Singh, around 10pm on October 23.

Within half an hour, the scooter-borne suspect tried to snatch the cellphone of Amba Prasad, Congress legislator from Barkagaon constituency in Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh district. The woman MLA was speaking to someone over the phone and was with her relative when the man attempted to snatch her phone away near PVR Plaza in the inner circle of Connaught Place, but failed, police said.

Both the politicians registered cases at the Connaught Place police station and an Inspector (anti-terrorist officer, ATO), who was looking after the work of the station house officer (SHO) in his absence, began an investigation. The teams scanned nearly 20 CCTV cameras and found that both the crimes were committed by the same suspect who was riding a scooter, said a senior police officer, who did not want to be named.

The CCTV cameras installed near both the crime spots only captured the scooter but its registration number was not clear. Investigators scanned more cameras on the routes that the suspect took. Since he fled towards Daryaganj, they suspected that he could be from that area. Through the human intelligence network and examining dossiers of habitual criminals from that area, the team identified the suspect as one Tauseef Khan and caught him with the scooter that he used in the crime. They also recovered the Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP) leader’s stolen cellphone, said the officer quoted above.

“We arrested the snatcher and recovered the stolen phone,” said deputy commissioner of police (New Delhi) Deepak Yadav.

According to Delhi Police data, Delhi reported 5,108 snatching cases till October 15 this year -- 851 more than the number reported during the same period in 2020.

Police said that Khan was found to be involved in at least three more crimes, including that of sexual harassment. Unlike most snatchers who work in pairs, Khan worked alone, police said.

Expressing happiness over the recovery of the stolen phone, the RLJP leader’s (Nutan Singh’s) husband Neeraj Singh praised the Delhi Police team for their swift action. Neeraj Singh is also an office-bearer in the same party.

“We were walking in the outer circle when a scooter rider took a sharp turn in front of us. I was scolding the rider for his rash riding when he suddenly snatched my wife’s phone from her hand. Before we could react, he sped away with the phone. I think he had already identified my wife as a soft target,” he said.

He said a police team reached the crime scene within two minutes after they informed the police control room. They took the couple to the police station where their complaint was recorded and converted into a first information report (FIR).

“The inspector and his team showed us some CCTV camera footage and we identified the suspect’s scooter. They assured us they would recover the stolen phone and did so within four days,” he added.

Congress MLA Amba Prasad, who is the youngest legislator in the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly 2019, could not be reached for comment despite multiple calls and a text message.