‘Take back your phone for ₹5,000’: Snatchers try to sell woman her stolen phone, arrested

Delhi Police officials said they have busted the alleged gang of snatchers on Friday and arrested three men. Police have found their involvement in a total of six cases.

“Do you want to buy your phone back?” the caller asked the woman, whose phone had been stolen hours ago by three men in southeast Delhi.

Delhi Police officials said they have busted the alleged gang of snatchers on Friday and arrested three men. Police have found their involvement in a total of six cases. (Hindustan Times)

There are at least 25 cases of cellphone snatching reported across the city every day, but Wednesday’s case where a 24-year-old woman’s phone was snatched was different. A day after three men stole her Samsung cellphone, she received a call from the alleged snatchers. They offered to sell the handset back to her for ₹5,000.

Delhi Police officials said they have busted the alleged gang of snatchers on Friday and arrested three men. Police have found their involvement in a total of six cases.

Police officials said they are looking into why the men offered to sell the woman back her phone. Officials suspect they may have done it out of desperation — they were either afraid of the risk involved in using a stolen phone or they wanted money immediately so they could buy drugs.

Deputy commissioner of police (southeast) Chinmoy Biswal said the homemaker’s phone was stolen by three men in Abu Fazal Enclave on Wednesday. The incident took place when she was returning home in an e-rickshaw.

“One of the contact numbers in the stolen phone was saved as ‘My Other Number.’ They realised that this number also belonged to the victim, whose phone they had stolen. They dialled number and proposed to sell the phone back to her for ₹5,000. They fixed a meeting at Batla House on Thursday,” said Biswal.

Police said the three men have confessed they are addicted to drugs and snatch cellphones and gold chains to get easy money. The three worked together and targeted women who travelled alone. “We are probing if they have sold stolen phone to owners in previous cases as well. We are also verifying their involvement in other cases. We have found their involvement in five other cases,” Biswal said.