North Delhi: Food delivery boy stabbed for resisting mobile phone theft, 2 held

Police said after snatching Tribhuvan’s cellphone, the robbers found ₹1,050 in the phone’s Paytm wallet and decided to encash it.

Three bike-borne men stabbed a 23-year-old food delivery boy of a restaurant near Adarsh Nagar metro station for resisting their attempt to snatch his mobile phone in the early hours of July 1, said police.

Two suspects were arrested on Saturday and the bike that they used in the crime was also recovered. The third suspect, who has the victim’s cellphone, is still on the run, said police.

Two suspects were arrested on Saturday and the bike that they used in the crime was also recovered. The third suspect, who has the victim’s cellphone, is still on the run, said police.

Around 12.30 am on July 1, the victim , identified by his first name Tribhuvan, left the restaurant after work and was walking in a service road towards his rented room in Azadpur village. Three men on a motorcycle waylaid him on the way and tried to snatch his mobile phone. Tribhuvan resisted and fought with them.

In the meantime, the suspects saw a car coming towards them. The trio panicked and feared that they may get caught. One of them took out a knife, stabbed Tribhuvan four to five times in his abdomen, snatched his phone and fled on the bike with his accomplices, said police.

“Despite bleeding profusely, Tribhuvan walked to another restaurant holding his abdomen and asked its security guard to save his life. The guard identified Tribhuvan and alerted his employer, who in turn rushed him to a nearby private hospital. The timely admission to the hospital saved Tribhuvan’s life after a surgery. He is out of danger now,” said a police officer associated with the case.

“A case of attempt to murder and robbery was registered at the Adarsh Nagar police station and the district’s special staff was tasked to identify the suspects and nab them at the earliest,” said deputy commissioner of police (northwest) Usha Rangnani.

Police said after snatching Tribhuvan’s cellphone, the robbers found ₹1,050 in the phone’s Paytm wallet and decided to encash it. They rode their bike for nearly a kilometre away from the crime scene and reached a CNG refilling station. One of them approached a gas refilling staff and cooked up a story that his sister was seriously ill and he was in dire need of money to buy her medicines. He offered to pay ₹50 as commission to the employee if the latter gave him ₹1,000 cash and accepted transfer of the same amount in his Paytm wallet, said a senior investigator.

“The employee agreed and gave ₹1,000 cash to the robbers after receiving ₹1,050 in his Paytm wallet. Since the deal happened 30 minutes after the robbery and an online payment company sent a successful transaction message to the victim’s registered mobile number, it helped us get a vital clue about the suspects,” said the investigator.

Rangnani said that after collecting details from the company about the money transfer, the special staff team identified the CNG station and its employee. The team scanned the CCTV footage and spotted the suspects.

“One of them, identified as Mohammad Abid (27) was caught by the Adarsh Nagar police from Azadpur village. The other suspect, Dinesh Kumar (19), was arrested on Saturday from Sonepat and the bike used in the crime was also recovered,” said the DCP.

“Another suspect, identified as Saddam, is absconding and the stolen phone is with him,” said Rangnani.