Duo robbed in fake ED raid; house help in net in Delhi's New Friends Colony

During the fake raid, the accused allegedly placed a bag on dining table with ₹10-12 lakh kept by family in a cupboard, described it as illegitimate income.

New Delhi: The Delhi Police have arrested a 40-year-old domestic help and her sister-in-law for allegedly orchestrating a fake Enforcement Directorate (ED) raid at her employer’s residence in south Delhi’s New Friends Colony, decamping with nearly ₹3 lakh in cash and jewellery on February 11, officers said on Thursday.

A case was registered on Tuesday, following which investigators analysed footage from more than 350 CCTV cameras and traced the suspects’ movement to Vaishali. (ANI)

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The crime occurred around 10am at a house in D-Block, New Friends Colony, when three men dressed in police uniforms allegedly barged in, claiming to be officials authorised by ED to conduct a search. DCP (southeast) Hemant Tiwari said the trio refused to show any search warrant or identification documents, intimidated the family, snatched their mobile phones and switched them off to prevent them from seeking help.

The elderly residents of the house – 86-year-old Ramesh Chandra Sabherwal and his wife 84-year-old Dr Usha Sabherwal – told police that the accused demanded that all cash and valuables in the house be produced before them.

Investigators said the couple’s son – 56-year-old Puneet Sabherwal, who runs a construction business and was at home at the time – placed a bag containing ₹10-12 lakh of business income on the dining table out of fear after the accused threatened their arrest in the name of ED. The accused then took photographs of all the money and jewellery, said an investigator who asked not to be identified.

Puneet said the family’s domestic help, Rekha, had been working with them for three years and appeared to have insider knowledge. “They assumed I would not be at home as I usually leave by 9.30am, but I was present that day. The fake cops made my parents sit in a corner and took away our phones. When I asked for a search warrant or ID, they said it was being typed,” he said.

He grew suspicious when the accused directly asked to be taken to a specific almirah in the basement where cash and valuables were stored. “There are more almirahs on the first floor, but they went straight to the one in the basement. That made me wonder,” he said.

While Puneet and his father were being questioned, Dr Usha excused herself to the washroom and secretly called her grandson, a lawyer living in Sukhdev Vihar. When the accused learned that a lawyer had been informed, they panicked and fled, police said.

A case was registered at the New Friends Colony police station under sections 319(2) (cheating by personation), 318(4) (cheating), 329(4) (criminal trespass), 127 (wrongful confinement), among others of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. A team led by Inspector Rajender Kumar Jain traced a blue Maruti Baleno car used in the crime to Vaishali in Ghaziabad.

Police learned that Rekha’s sister-in-law, Pooja, lived in Vaishali – a detail that raised suspicion. When Rekha’s son was questioned, she and her husband allegedly fled separately. Rekha and Pooja were later traced, while the three men involved remain absconding.

A search of Pooja’s residence led to the recovery of an Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) deputy commandant’s uniform, a fake ID card, a wireless set box, seven watches allegedly stolen from the Sabherwals over time, jewellery and a pistol with a licence that had expired in 2019.

During interrogation, the two women reportedly admitted to the crime. Investigators identified the three absconding men as a serving ITBP constable, Prakash Kumar, a retired Army personnel Updesh Singh, and another relative, Manish.

Police said the ITBP constable is Pooja’s husband, and the other two are also relatives.