Three men who had committed 19 back-to-back robberies in less than three hours on April 11 were arrested after an exchange of fire at Kashmere Gate on Tuesday.
During one of the robberies, the accused had fired on a victim when he resisted. With their arrests, police claimed to have solved over a hundred cases of snatching and robbery in the national capital region.
Nitin, alias Balli, the son of a retired Indian Army official, Rahul, alias Sunny, and Akshay took to crime to lead a lavish lifestyle and to buy drugs. Two sophisticated pistols, four live and two used cartridges and a stolen motorbike were found after their arrests, the police said.
Ravindra Yadav, additional CP (crime), said the gang used stolen motorcycles during the robberies. They would steal the motorcycles from busy residential colonies of Uttam Nagar and Mahipalpur and after using them for 10-15 days, abandon them. The accused have stolen 15 motorcycles in the past year.
In the past few months, Yadav said, a series of robberies and snatchings were reported to have been committed by people on motorcycles in south and southwest Delhi. During investigation, the accused were identified as Nitin and Akshay. A team was formed to nail the criminals.
On Monday, the team received information that the criminals will meet near the bus terminus at Kashmere Gate with weapons and commit street crimes in the areas.
{{/usCountry}}On Monday, the team received information that the criminals will meet near the bus terminus at Kashmere Gate with weapons and commit street crimes in the areas.
{{/usCountry}}"Our team laid a trap and when the criminals were spotted, they were asked to surrender. The men whipped out their weapons and fired four rounds at the police team. The police personnel fired three rounds in retaliation. While Akshay and Nitin were held from the spot, Nitin managed to flee. He was later arrested near the Vaishali Metro station," Yadav said, adding the gang mostly targeted women.