Attire of robber helps cops arrest 2 snatchers in E Delhi’s Jafrabad

The two men pinned Manju to the ground when locals rushed to her aid. One of the shots had hit the door of a house but nobody was hurt.

The yellow cap and T-shirt worn by one of the snatchers during an incident in east Delhi’s Jafrabad on Wednesday helped the police arrest him as well as his accomplice.

The yellow cap and T-shirt worn by one of the snatchers during an incident in east Delhi’s Jafrabad on Wednesday helped the police arrest him as well as his accomplice. (HT File)

Police identified the arrested men as Nadeem alias Nadda,26, and Mohsin,24. Police said Mohsin had fired two shots from Nadeem’s gun to scare away locals who had rushed to help the victim, Manju, a nurse, after she resisted their attempt to snatch her gold chain and cellphone.

The two men pinned Manju to the ground when locals rushed to her aid. One of the shots had hit the door of a house but nobody was hurt. The bikers managed to flee with the woman’s chain and cellphone, the police said.

Deputy commissioner of police (northeast) Atul Kumar Thakur said a case was registered and teams were formed to nab the suspects. Investigators scanned the CCTV footage from the crime scene and in one of the footage, two men were seen riding a white Yamaha FZ motorcycle. The rider was wearing a yellow cap and a yellow T-shirt. Only the pillion rider was wearing helmet. The registration number of the motorcycle was also visible.

“The registration number was found to be that of a bike which belonged to a family in east Delhi’s Farsh Bazar. We contacted the bike owner and were able to ascertain that his bike was not used in the crime. Only its registration number was used to produce a fake number plate,” a police officer said.

Later, footage was shown to informers and one identified Mohsin by the cap and T-shirt.

“The informer told us he had seen Mohsin wearing a similar cap and T-shirt and riding a similar motorcycle in Maujpur and Jafrabad areas,” the officer said.

“We asked the two about the number plate. They disclosed that they had scanned an e-commerce portal on which second-hand bikes are sold, identified a bike of the same make as theirs, and used that bike’s number to create a fake numberplate,” the officer added. Police said the Yamaha FZ, which the suspects used in the snatching, was stolen from Sarai Rohilla fortnight ago.