Some negotiation and a hot chase later, Delhi man gets stolen phone back
It all started when Shanu Khan, an ice cream vendor, was robbed of his phone at knifepoint by two men at Mayur Vihar Phase 3 around 9am
In an unusual turn of events, a 23-year-old man managed to get the phone that was robbed of him back after a series of negotiations with the suspects and a brief chase by three alert policemen at Mayur Vihar Phase 3 in east Delhi on Friday, senior police officers aware of the matter said on Saturday.
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It all started when Shanu Khan, an ice cream vendor, was robbed of his phone at knifepoint by two men at Mayur Vihar Phase 3 around 9am. Neither were the suspects — identified as Dhirender Singh and Krishan Bhandari, both 26 — wearing helmets nor were they masked.
What was more surprising was the fact that when Khan called his phone after it was taken away, after borrowing a passerby’s phone, it was answered by one of the suspects. The negotiations then began — instead of informing the police, Khan began by requesting the suspects to return his phone as he had important numbers.
“The suspects told Khan they would return the phone if he paid ₹10,000. Khan told them about his poor financial background and said he did not have the money. They disconnected the call after asking him to arrange the money if he wanted the phone back,” said a senior police officer, aware of the case.
The suspects kept the stolen phone switched on, unlike cases where it is switched off immediately after being stolen to avoid being traced. Khan called his phone multiple times from different numbers and it was answered every time.
“The negotiations went on for four hours. Khan agreed to pay them ₹10,000 and the suspects promised to return it too. They decided to meet near Hanuman Temple near the market,” said deputy commissioner of police (east) Apoorva Gupta.
Around 1 pm, the suspects arrived at the meeting point. However, at the time of the transaction, Khan raised the alarm, which alerted three policemen on duty, including a sub-inspector. “They began chasing the suspects after Khan narrated the incident. With the help of a passerby named Azhar, the two were nabbed and Khan’s phone was recovered,” added DCP Gupta.
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A case of armed robbery was registered at the Ghazipur police station and the two men were arrested. While Singh has no previous criminal records, Bhandari was found involved in at least nine cases of theft, burglary, and attack on government officials, police said.