Juvenile thief’s story: Escape, arrest. Repeat...

This time, he wanted revenge. The 17-year-old leader of the infamous ‘fire brand’ gang, who escaped with 27 other juveniles from an observation facility in northwest Delhi on March 15, was arrested from south Delhi on Friday, police said.

This time, he wanted revenge. The 17-year-old leader of the infamous ‘fire brand’ gang, who escaped with 27 other juveniles from an observation facility in northwest Delhi on March 15, was arrested from south Delhi on Friday, police said.

HT Image

Apprehended for the sixth time, the gang leader, along with an accomplice, were allegedly on their way to teach a woman, who had helped the police arrest him last time, a lesson.

Police said the incident took place around 7 am on Friday at the Pilanji Village area of Sarojini Nagar.

“They were riding a stolen Bajaj Discover motorcycle when we intercepted them,” said a senior police officer.

A knife was reportedly recovered from the duo.

“During questioning, he told us that he was on his way to take revenge on Lalita who had helped us catch him the last time,” the officer said.

The juvenile leader had been arrested on March 10 during an early morning robbery attempt in Pilanji Village.

However, the woman and her son, at home at that time, put up a stiff fight. In order to scare them, the juvenile had allegedly hit himself on his forehead with a brick in a bid to scare them, police said.

“But we reached on time and managed to arrest them before they could escape,” said the officer.

Just two days before being detained, he had burgled and set ablaze an Army Jawan’s Sarojini Nagar residence.

Police said the duo had been handed over to the authorities at the juvenile justice facility in Muherjee Nagar, from where he had fled on Sunday.

“He has been produced before the Principal Magistrate and been re-lodged at the facility,” said a senior official from the ministry of social welfare.