Behind crime spree, 4 petty thieves trying to ‘make it big’

Police said they allegedly stole the wheels to ensure the tyres do not burst during the crime spree or in case they faced a police chase.

Nearly five hours after committing a series of crimes in the early hours of June 8, including allegedly robbing a truck driver and shooting him dead in west Delhi’s Punjabi Bagh, four car-borne robbers returned to the crime scene in another car to observe the actions of the police, investigators said after arresting and questioning three suspects. Police said they are on the lookout for the fourth suspect.

Image courtesy: Hindustan Times

They said the men, who were arrested by a team from the northwest district’s special staff on Friday, allegedly confessed to committing seven crimes, six of them within an hour, in five districts while driving 70-80 kilometres around the city in the intervening night of June 7 and 8.

“Their sole objective was to mark their entry into Delhi’s crime world. Previously, all four committed petty thefts such as stealing batteries of parked vehicles, mostly in Ghaziabad. But they were not satisfied with their crimes and the earnings, so they decided to make it big for themselves. They had purchased two pistols and bullets and that emboldened them. However, our team arrested them and shattered their dreams,” said deputy commissioner of police (northwest) Usha Rangnani, quoting the disclosures of the three arrested suspects, identified as Rizwan, Shamshad and Nasir.

The fourth suspect, Bhola, who is still absconding, drove the stolen silver-coloured Santro car during the crime spree. The car, which was found to be stolen from Jahangirpuri in November 2020, allegedly remained in the possession of Bhola, a resident of Mukundpur in outer Delhi from where the crime spree began on the night of June 7. Police found the vehicle in a charred state in an agricultural field in a village in Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh, on Friday after questioning the arrested men.

Around 10 pm on June 7, Bhola left his home for Loni in the stolen car and returned to his room around 11 pm with Rizwan, Shamshad and Nasir. The accused reportedly consumed liquor and around 11.30 pm, embarked on the crime spree .

They first allegedly stole four wheels of another Santro car parked in Mukundpur area and replaced their car’s wheels with them near Azadpur vegetable market. They remained in the area till 2.15 am on June 8, eating omelettes at a roadside stall and discussing their next course of action. Police said a CCTV camera from the area captured them replacing the wheels and its footage is now a key evidence in the investigation.

Around 2.30am, the four reached a residential neighbourhood in Singalpur village in northwest Delhi’s Shalimar Bagh, where their alleged attempt to steal the battery of a parked e-rickshaw was thwarted by the wife of the vehicle owner who raised an alarm from the balcony of her first floor flat. According to police, Rizwan allegedly fired his pistol but the bullet reportedly hit a window AC of the adjacent house.

The four then drove towards Punjabi Bagh, another police officer who did not want to be named, said. “On the way, near Prem Bari Pul, they waylaid an autorickshaw and robbed the mobile phones of the driver and the passenger. A few kilometres away, they also stopped a truck and robbed its driver of ₹5,000 and his mobile phone. While leaving, Rizwan, who had a scuffle with the driver who tried to resist the robbery, fired at the driver who died on the spot,”

“While leaving, Rizwan fired a bullet at the truck driver, killing him on the spot. He fired the bullet just because the driver was resisting the robbery and had a scuffle with Nasir,” the officer said, quoting Rizwan’s disclosure during questioning.

From Punjabi Bagh, the four drove towards central Delhi and on the way, they allegedly fired a bullet at another e-rickshaw driver when their attempt to steal the vehicle’s battery failed. The incident took place somewhere on the Ring Road between Punjabi Bagh and ITO, where they also allegedly robbed the passenger of an auto of his mobile phone.

While the firing incident on Ring Road was not reported to the police, the phone theft at ITO was reported.

The suspects allegedly robbed their last victim, the driver of a car who was changing a flat tyre near the Moolchand flyover in south Delhi, of his cellphone at gunpoint at around 4am. However, they returned the phone and fled after seeing a police patrol van, police said.

Investigators said that after the crimes, the suspects returned to Loni, where they parked the car at an isolated place and left again in a Wagon R car owned by Rizwan.

“Around 7.30 am, they arrived at the Punjabi Bagh crime scene to see what the police were doing. As the police had removed the truck and the dead truck driver from the crime spot, Bhola returned to his room while the others went to Loni. To destroy evidence, Rizwan and Nisar drove the Santro car to Baghpat and set it on fire in a village on the same day,” the officer said.

DCP Rangnani said that the suspects were identified with the help of technical surveillance and information collected through the human intelligence network.