Cop joins hands with burglars, on the run

When the staff of the Kotwali police station arrested two burglars for committing theft at a few shops, they had no idea that the third member of the gang would turn out to be a constable of the same police station.

When the staff of the Kotwali police station arrested two burglars for committing theft at a few shops, they had no idea that the third member of the gang would turn out to be a constable of the same police station.

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On Saturday, two burglars —Mohammad Hafeez and Sri Bhagwan — were arrested by the staff of Kotwali police station in north Delhi.

During interrogation, they told the police that they committed thefts at shops in Sadar Bazar at night. A little more prodding revealed that a constable, posted at the same police station, helped them with the crime.

"The team was shocked to know that one of their own was helping burglars. The constable would identify and tell the burglars which shop was vulnerable to theft," said a senior police officer, requesting anonymity.

The constable, identified as Ajit, is currently absconding. Sources said the team that arrested the burglars informed their immediate bosses about the involvement of the constable but they initially chose to ignore the detail.

To cross-check the involvement of Ajit, the police scanned his call details and found that he was in constant touch with one of the arrested burglars.

DCP (North) Sindhu Pillai confirmed that the name of a constable had cropped up in the interrogation. "We are verifying his role. His call records show that he was in touch with one of them," she said.

A senior police officer said that if the role of constable was proven, strict action would be taken against him. But before taking any action, the police want to be sure that Ajit was actively involved in the crime. "There can be a possibility that he was in touch to nab them," the officer said.

"We never received any complaint against him, but there have been several cases of burglaries in the jurisdiction of Kotwali police station. The SHO was asked to increase night patrolling and as a result, two burglars were caught," another senior police officer said.