2 arrested for robbery, assault after man comes out of coma

Ritik Singh, 21, allegedly started robbing people in March this year to make up for ₹16 lakh that he had stolen from his family the same month and gambled away

Ritik Singh, 21, allegedly started robbing people in March this year to make up for ₹16 lakh that he had stolen from his family the same month and gambled away. He was just ₹16,000 short when he ran out luck on July 4.

Ritik Singh (squatting on right) started robbing people to make up for ₹16 lakh that he had stolen from his family and gambled away, police said. (Sourced)

One of Singh’s victims, who had slipped into coma after being robbed and assaulted on the intervening night of June 5 and 6 in Faridabad, woke up and told his family members about the attack. Following this, a case was registered and the police nabbed Singh and his best friend after identifying them through CCTV footage of the incident and technical surveillance, investigators who cracked the case said asking not to be named.

The victim, Inder Singh alias Pradeep (21), a resident of Dabua Colony in Faridabad, is a software engineer. Inder was on his way home after his night shift around midnight on June 5 when Singh and his friend attacked him near his house. Hours later, Inder was found lying in a pool of blood by a neighbour, who informed his family members and they took him to a private hospital, said the investigators.

Inder suffered serious injuries on his head and also sustained minor injuries on his back, shoulder, neck and legs before he slipped into a coma, they said.

Raj Kumar, Inder’s brother, registered a complaint on June 6 at Dabua police station, stating his brother was assaulted by unidentified persons when he was returning home from his office. The police registered a case under sections 323 (assault), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC, the officers said.

Police checked Inder’s call detail records as his brother alleged that he was assaulted by someone known. Police questioned over 12 people, whose numbers Inder dialled on the fateful day. All of them were his colleagues, friends and relatives, said police.

Meanwhile, Singh and his accomplice went about their business and robbed a few more. According to police, they could be involved in at least 50 incidents of snatching, robbery and assault registered between March and July 4.

However, Singh’s smooth ride to earn ₹16 lakh and return the amount to his family was hampered on July 2, when Inder came out of coma 26 days after he was assaulted and robbed by Singh, said the officers.

Narender Kadian, deputy commissioner of police (crime), said the doctors immediately informed police and a team was sent to record Inder’s statement on July 3.

“The victim in his statement told police that he was assaulted in a robbery bid and some unidentified persons had hit him on the head with some sharp, heavy object when he resisted. We only knew about the assault, and had no idea that it was a robbery. We added relevant sections to the FIR and gathered all the leads that we had to reanalyse them in the light of the new information,” said Kadian.

The investigation was then handed over to crime unit of Sector 48 led, he added.

Teams were formed and footage from CCTV cameras installed near the crime scene was gathered. “We scanned over 150 CCTV footage and questioned over 100 people, including mechanics and grocery store owners. Finally, we identified the registration number plate of the scooter used by the alleged suspects, and identified them,” Kadian said.

A police team in plain clothes was deployed outside Singh’s house to monitor his movements. Singh was nabbed on July 4.

Kadian said Singh led them to Jatin Ahuja (24), his partner in crime. “During questioning, the suspects said that they were involved in more than 50 similar incidents and used to rob people in the night to make up for the money they lost in gambling,” he said.

Singh told the police that his father had saved ₹16 lakh for his sister’s wedding that was to take place in August this year. Since he was asked to buy gifts and make all the arrangements, he had easy access to the money, Singh told the police. Investigators said Singh lost the entire sum in gambling in just one month.

Police said Singh was fired from his job in March and had no other means to compensate for the loss. Meanwhile, his father was also pressuring him to contribute some money for his sister’s wedding, and also start making preparations.

“He narrated his ordeal to his friend Ahuja and both planned to rob people and snatch valuables to recover the losses. Initially, they targeted businessmen in industrial areas and later started robbing people, who were returning home late night,” said Kadian.

The DCP said the suspects told the interrogators that they had ₹11 lakh when they targeted Singh on June 5. And, between June 5 and July 4, the two suspects had made almost ₹5 lakh.They had planned to do their last robbery on July 5 and were ₹16,000 away from their target -- ₹16 lakh, Kadian said.

The two suspects have been sent to judicial custody for 14 days even as the police are checking details of cases that the two confessed to have committed. .

Inder, meanwhile, is still recuperating in the hospital, said the DCP.