Crime branch to take over probe in Delhi’s Pragati Maidan tunnel robbery

Nearly ₹4 lakh more of the stolen was recovered following the interrogation of the arrested people, police said on Wednesday

A day after eight men, including three alleged habitual criminals, were arrested with around ₹5 lakh for allegedly robbing two delivery agents at the Pragati Maidan tunnel on Saturday, nearly ₹4 lakh more was recovered following the interrogation of the arrested people, and another person was nabbed in connection with the case, the Delhi Police said on Wednesday.

The eight suspects in police custody. Four of them allegedly robbed two delivery agents at the Pragati Maidan tunnel on Saturday. (Arvind Yadav/HT Photo)

With the latest development, the current total recovery is now at ₹10 lakh, police said, adding that they expect to recover ₹40 lakh more from at least five more suspects, who are still at large.

At least five of the eight arrests, including that of the mastermind, Usman Ali, 25, were made by two teams of the crime branch. The case was transferred to the crime branch from the New Delhi district for further investigation, officers added.

On Saturday around 3 pm, two delivery agents — Patel Sajan Kumar and his colleague, Jigar Patel — were travelling to Gurugram in a cab that they boarded from near Red Fort to deliver cash to their employer’s friend when four men on a bike allegedly intercepted their taxi inside the tunnel and robbed them of the cash bag at gunpoint.

The entire crime was captured on a CCTV camera. The footage surfaced on Monday which was widely shared on social media, attracting sharp criticism from politicians, including Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, about the city’s law and order situation.

“The agents in their complaint had mentioned that the stolen cash bag contained ₹1.5 lakh to ₹2 lakh cash. However, the recovery of around ₹9 lakh from eight arrested men and their subsequent interrogation revealed that at least five suspects were absconding with the larger part of the stolen cash. This prompted us to believe that the total amount was around ₹50 lakh, which, we suspect, was part of a hawala transaction,” said a senior crime branch officer, who asked not to be named.

The other seven arrested people were identified as Usman’s cousin, Irfan Khan, Anuj Mishra, 26, Kuldeep alias Lungad, 26, Sumit alias Akash, 19, Pradeep alias Sonu, 34, Amit alias Bala, 19, and Vishal, 21. However, one person, identified as Anil alias Choti was arrested from Sonbhadra, UP.

The suspect, who snatched the bag of cash at gunpoint from one of the agents seated on the rear seat of the taxi, is still at large along with two accomplices. He has been identified as Yogi. Police said he is a member of an Uttar Pradesh-based gang, led by one Sohail Pehalwan.

“The suspects were divided into three groups, and each had a different task to perform during the robbery. The gang led by Pehalwan is still at large. We have information that they took away the major share from the booty,” the officer added.