Two held for robbing people on their way to Ghazipur mandi

The Delhi Police Tuesday said they busted a gang of robbers that robbed at least four people in the past one week in Shahdara, taking advantage of the deserted roads

The Delhi Police Tuesday said they busted a gang of robbers that robbed at least four people in the past one week in Shahdara, taking advantage of the deserted roads due to the lockdown. Senior officers said the robbers used to target those who were either going to or returning from Ghazipur Mandi after buying essentials. Four cases have been solved so far, police said.

HT Image

The two men who were arrested are Balbeer Sharma, previously involved in 23 cases of robbery, and his associate Monu, who had five robbery cases registered against him.

Deputy commissioner of police (Shahadra) Dinesh Kumar Gupta said on Sunday, a resident of Jwala Nagar reported that when he was going to Ghazipur Mandi to buying vegetables, early morning, when two men approached him on a white scooter on the pretext of having a conversation with him. They overpowered him and robbed him of ₹2,000.

“A case was registered in Vivek Vihar police station to probe the incident. On Monday, another resident of Jhilmil reported a similar crime. He said he was on his way to the mandi, when two men on a white scooter robbed him of ₹7,000 at knifepoint. Our inquiry revealed that two other similar robberies were reported in the past one week, all in the vicinity of Ghazipur Mandi,” Gupta said.

The DCP said several pickets were raised on the stretches around the mandi and policemen were deployed in plainclothes to collect information about suspects. The CCTV footage was also checked to identify them and trace the scooter.

“While our staff were on duty, around 2.30am Tuesday, we got information that three men, who have robbed a person in Krishna Nagar and also stabbed him, have fled on a white scooter towards Cross River Mall. Our team rushed to the crime scene while another went after the suspects,” the DCP said.

Gupta said his team managed to spot the suspects near Yamuna sports complex and they were about to stop for checking. “However, seeing the police team, the trio sped away. Our team gave chase and managed to catch two of them, while one escaped. We recovered from them three stolen mobile phones, ₹2,000 cash and a knife they had used to stab a victim. During interrogation, they said they used to target people early morning to avoid being seen by anyone. They said because roads are empty, it was easy for them to escape after committing the crime,” he said.

Efforts are on to arrest their third associate, police said.