Ghaziabad: Six arrested for looting ₹23.41 lakh from cattle trader at gunpoint on NH-9

The suspects were finally arrested from near the river Hindon bridge, and an amount of ₹20.5 lakh cash was recovered from them

Police arrested a gang of six suspects on Tuesday for robbing a cattle trader of ₹23.41 lakh on August 21 from National Highway 9 (NH-9), police said, adding that they recovered about ₹20.5 lakh cash from the suspects.

The bikers intercepted Nadeem’s scooter near the ABES College crossing on NH-9, and robbed him at gunpoint. (HT Archive)

The suspects were identified as Tushar Bidhudi, 22, Abhay Bhadana, 22, Nitin Dhama, 23, Arun Kasana, 26, Gaurav Nagar, 21, and Dheeraj Singh Bainsla, 28. Two other suspects, Vishal and Harsh, are still at large.

Nipun Agarwal, deputy commissioner of police (city), said, “About three months ago, one of the suspects, Nagar, met a man, identified as Monty Kansal at a common friend’s party in Delhi’s East Vinod Nagar. Kansal used to be associated with the cash transfer business from 2018-2020, and he told Nagar that the Ghazipur market in Delhi witnessed frequent transactions in cash. About a week ago, Nagar, along with his other accomplices hatched a plan to make some quick money.”

On August 21, they spotted Mohammad Nadeem, a cattle trader from Shaheed Nagar in Ghaziabad, riding a scooter with a bag containing ₹23.41 lakh. Nadeem was going from Delhi’s Ghazipur market and to Dasna in Ghaziabad, said police.

The DCP said, “The suspects followed Nadeem on their bikes and a car. The men in the car clicked Nadeem’s picture and forwarded it to the bikers waiting ahead. The bikers started chasing Nadeem’s scooter. When they were near the ABES College crossing on NH-9, they intercepted Nadeem and robbed him at gunpoint. They also took away his scooter.”

Based on a complaint made by Nadeem, the Vijay Nagar police registered an FIR under Section 392 (robbery), which will be converted to Section 398 (dacoity) as there were more than four suspects involved in the gunpoint loot.

According to police, they checked hundreds of CCTV cameras in the area and used electronic surveillance and manual intelligence methods to track down the suspects.

“The suspects were finally arrested from near the river Hindon bridge, and an amount of ₹20.5 lakh cash was recovered from them. Some of the suspects have previous cases against them but the loot with Nadeem was their first collective crime. We will recommend imposing the Gangsters Act against them,” Agarwal said.