Five arrested in alleged case of drugging, theft

The Crime Branch of the Delhi police arrested five people on Monday, including a woman, in an alleged case of drugging and loot.

The Crime Branch of the Delhi police arrested five people on Monday, including a woman, in an alleged case of drugging and loot.

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According to the police, the accused posed as a family to avoid hassles in their attempt to hire cars from travel agencies.

Deputy commissioner of police (crime) Ashok Chand said three cases from Uttaranchal and one from Haryana have been solved. Three vehicles have also been recovered.

The accused, Arshad Ali (23), Iqbal (34), Saleem Ahmed (30), Manoj Verma (24) and Sunita Shabnam (35), were held near Gurudwara Majnu-ka-Tilla in north Delhi's Timarpur area.

They allegedly came to the area to sell looted vehicles.

According to the police, Ahmed and Verma are the alleged receivers of stolen vehicles.

Ali, the gang leader, was earlier involved in the robbery of a truck which was loaded with gas cylinders in Uttar Pradesh's Khatoli area.

"Different roles were assigned by him to the members. Iqbal used to pose as a family man along with Sunita to take vehicles on hire. Sunita was included so that vehicles could be hired without raising any suspicion," Chand added.

The police said that during the journey they used to stay overnight in a hotel using a fake name and address.

"Then, they used to mix a sedative in alcohol or a soft drink and give it to the driver. After the driver fell unconscious, they used to check out from the hotel and flee with the hired vehicle," he said.