National level Taekwondo player nabbed for snatching

The suspect, identified as Suraj aka Fighter, was also a singer, who had once qualified among the top 50 contestants in a television singing reality show, said Monika Bhardwaj, deputy commissioner of police (west).

A 26-year-old graduate from Delhi University, who has won a gold in Taekwondo at the national level, was nabbed for conducting a series of snatchings in west Delhi, the police said on Saturday.

A 26-year-old graduate from Delhi University, who has won a gold in Taekwondo at the national level, was nabbed for conducting a series of snatchings in west Delhi, the police said on Saturday.

The suspect, identified as Suraj aka Fighter, was also a singer, who had once qualified among the top 50 contestants in a television singing reality show, said Monika Bhardwaj, deputy commissioner of police (west).

It isn’t the first time Suraj had been arrested. Suraj was arrested in west Delhi’s Janakpuri in 2014 and 40 stolen mobile phones were recovered from his possession.

“He was released from Tihar only a few weeks ago. Since his release, he would snatch during night to conceal his identity,” said the DCP.

The last known snatching involving Suraj took place in Vikaspuri on August 5 when he, and his associate, Rahul, allegedly targeted a woman who was speaking on her phone while walking on the road, said the officer.

“CCTV footage helped us identify one of the snatchers as Rahul. We arrested him last week and he revealed the identity of his associate, Suraj,” said the officer.

Suraj was arrested from near Machchi Market in Vikaspuri on Thursday, after the police received a tip-off that he would be arriving there on a stolen KTM motorcycle. “When we intercepted him, Suraj sped away on his bike. But we chased him for 300 metres and anbbed him,” said the officer.

Suraj was allegedly found to be carrying a pistol and a bullet. Police said that Suraj, a resident of Uttam Nagar, was allegedly involved in five registered cases of snatchings since his release from Tihar jail last month.

An investigator said that Suraj had participated in a singing competition in 2009 and won the Taekwondo national golds between 2011 and 2012.

“He shares an estranged relationship with his father and lives with his mother. Sometime in 2013, he turned friends with some local criminals and took to snatching, robberies and burglaries to fund his fancy lifestyle,” said the officer.