Man robbed on pretext of selling mobile phone on e-commerce site, two held

Noida: Two men were arrested on Sunday night for allegedly robbing a Delhi resident of ₹8,000 on the pretext of selling an iPhone on an e-commerce site

Noida: Two men were arrested on Sunday night for allegedly robbing a Delhi resident of ₹8,000 on the pretext of selling an iPhone on an e-commerce site.

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The suspects, believed to be in their early twenties, were identified as Vishal and Arun, both residents of Ghaziabad’s Khoda colony, police said.

According to police, the duo was notorious for contacting sellers or buyers on e-commerce sites on the pretext of selling goods and then robbing them of their valuables.

“Nearly two months ago, they had advertised for an iPhone to be sold, and for which they met a buyer. However, they robbed him of his phone and cash and then fled. No case was registered in this instance, but the victim started tracing his phone and found that the same sellers were advertising for an iPhone again. He then asked his friend, a resident of Delhi, to contact the duo and fixed a meeting,” said a senior police official.

Police officials said that the deal was finalised for ₹8,000 and the meeting took place on April 17 near the Sector 16 metro station. “They took ₹8,000 from the victim first and then engaged him in some talks. Eventually, they fled with the money in a Santro car without handing over the phone that was to be sold,” said Munish Chauhan, station house officer, Sector 20 police station.

Following the incident, a case of robbery (Section 392 of the Indian Penal Code) was registered at Sector 20 police station. The duo was nabbed following tip-offs from near a media house in Sector 16A, police said.

Police recovered the car, the iPhone, another smartphone, two knives and ₹2,200 from the suspects. The duo has used similar modus operandi to dupe people in Delhi as well, said police.

The suspects kept weapons with them to scare the victims and one of the two usually waited in the car to drive away, police officials said, adding that they were produced before a magistrate and later sent to jail.