Noida: Three men concoct robbery tale to make off with ₹38 lakh, arrested

Police said the suspects believed that their Delhi based employer was dealing in illegal cash, and hence would not report the robbery to the police fearing an investigation against him, police said on Wednesday

Three men who allegedly made up a story of a robbery to siphon off ₹38.50 lakh from their employer were arrested on Wednesday after their contradictory statements made the police suspicious and sustained questioning revealed that they were planning to make off with a bagful of cash that their employer had given them to deliver to Pari Chowk in Greater Noida.

The suspects (standing behind) in police custody. Police also recovered the money from the arrested men. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

Police said the suspects believed that their Delhi based employer was dealing in illegal cash, and hence would not report the robbery to the police fearing an investigation against him, police said on Wednesday.

“On Tuesday around 6.08pm, a man named Ashok Kumar, 38, who hails from Raebareli and resided in Sector 20 in Delhi’s Rohini, called police on the emergency helpline number 112 and said he was robbed of ₹38.5 lakh around 4pm near Sector 136, under the jurisdiction of Phase 2 police station,” said Vindyachal Tiwari, station house officer, Phase 2.

He further said when police interrogated Ashok, he revealed that his employer, Abhinav Gupta, a Delhi-based businessman, had given him the cash to deliver to a man in Pari Chowk, Greater Noida. “When he along with his colleague Sunil Kumar, 38, a resident of Nangloi in Delhi, was going to deliver cash on his bike, when two unidentified bikers approached them from behind and snatched the bag,” Tiwari said.

“Later, Ashok, who was employed with Gupta since the past three years, informed him about the incident. Gupta sent one of his acquaintances to the spot, and then the police were alerted.’ said Tiwari.

But when the statements of Ashok and Sunil were found to be contradictory, police grilled them thoroughly, and eventually they spilled the beans on the fake robbery, the SHO said.

A senior police officer said, “The two believed that since Gupta gave them a huge amount of cash, he might have illegal money dealings and hence would not report the robbery, fearing an investigation against him.”

The suspects told police that their colleague Sikandar, 33, who also hails from Raebareli and resides in Sultanpur in Delhi, was involved in their plan to siphon off money. They handed over the bag of cash to Sikandar, who took it away on a scooter with a fake registration number and then kept it near Biodiversity Park, said police.

All three suspects work with Gupta and his partner in Delhi, police said. Since Gupta thought Ashok was a trustworthy employee, he was tasked with delivering the cash.

A case under relevant Indian Penal Code sections of forgery, criminal conspiracy, and criminal breach of trust was registered at Phase 2 police station on Wednesday and they were arrested from Biodiversity Park in Sector 91 on Wednesday around 12.30pm. The cash was recovered from their possession, and further investigations are underway, said police.