Smart car keys led police to doorstep of Def Col robbers

The recovery of a smart car key from the house of a dreaded criminal led the Delhi police to crack the daring Rs 5.25 cr south Delhi robbery.

The recovery of a smart car key from the house of a dreaded criminal led the Delhi police to crack the daring Rs 5.25 cr south Delhi robbery.

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Earlier, the police had recovered the looted cash van and two broken currency chests within one-kilometre diameter of the area in Hauz Rani and Khirki Extension, respectively. It was clear that at least some of the robbers lived in south Delhi and were well-conversed with the topography of the area. The employees of the Trans Solution Company, which owned the cash replenishment van, continue to be under police scanner.

Putting the pieces of jigsaw into place, the bread crumbs left behind by the robbers took the Delhi police to the locked house of one Hari Kishan — a member of Kishan Solanki alias Billu gang — in Khirki Extension, T-block. During the search of the house, the police recovered a sophisticated car key attached to a ring which had the tag of the Trans Solution Company.

“It was a smart car key, which has a computer chip to prevent theft of the vehicle. When we showed the keys to the driver of the cash van, he immediately recognised it. When we investigated further, we came to know that Kishan’s brother Deepak Sharma was also a member of the Billu gang. We picked up Kishan’s mother and sister on whose information we nailed Sharma,” said a senior police officer.

Sharma was caught driving a black Sonalika Rhino in Savitri Nagar, near Malviya Nagar, and a 9-mm pistol with nine live cartridges were recovered from his possession. “Upon sustained questioning, Sharma told us that it was the same gun with which Kishan had shot at Munne Singh — the security guard of the cash van. He also told us that he had kept Rs 1.51 crore at his rented accommodation in Pushp Vihar. A police team was immediately sent to recover the money,” said the officer.

The second breakthrough in the case that led to the arrest of two more persons and recovery of Rs 85,85,000 came after a Gurgaon hospital informed the police that someone had paid the hospital bill with currency notes out of looted money, as they bear the same serial numbers.

The police arrested one Krishan Valmiki from Chakkarpur village and recovered the money. Valmiki is a relative of Vijay Nahar — one of the four absconding accused.