Six robbers planning V-Day celebrations held

NEW DELHI - They had planned to gift diamonds to their girlfriends on Valentines Day Feb 14 but as luck would have it, six members of a gang which committed more than 100 robberies and snatchings landed in police net a week before the day marking the celebration of love, an official said Thursday.

Police have recovered a Hyundai i10 car, 130 cell phones, wrist watches, three scooters and two country-made pistols from the accused arrested Feb 7.

The gang members did not commit crimes Fridays as they offered prayers on that day. They took a day off on Sundays.

Arif, 24, Imran, 25, Gulfam, 22, and Nissar, 29, hail from Sahibabad, Uttar Pradesh, while Yusuf, 37, is from Gokulpuri in east Delhi and Liyakat Ali, 42, is from Seelampuri in east Delhi.

They were arrested by Delhi Police from outside a hospital in Ghaziabad Feb 7 where they had gone for treatment after some of the members were injured in an accident.

“Gulfam fractured his hand and Imran injured his leg when their scooter collided with a car Feb 6 while fleeing after snatching a person’s mobile phone,” a police official said.

According to police, the gang led a lavish lifestyle from the money they got after selling the stolen articles. They would pamper their girlfriends by giving them expensive gifts and take them out in various malls in Preet Vihar area of east Delhi.

“They used two Bajaj Chetak scooters and would commit the crimes early morning between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. The passengers travelling in autorickshaws were also targeted,” he said.

They operated mainly around Saket and Malviya Nagar metro stations in south Delhi and were involved in more than 100 cases of snatchings and robberies in the national capital as well as the neighbouring city of Gurgaon in Haryana.

During investigations, it was learnt that Aurobindo Marg in south Delhi was the primary route taken by the gang members to reach south Delhi and Gurgaon. All the members were stout and would not hesitate to use weapons if the victim showed any resistance.

“On two occasions we surrounded them but still they managed to escape,” said police official from Delhi Police south district.

According to police, the gang would start from their villages at around 6 a.m. and would reach Delhi or Gurgaon. They would then commit two to three robberies or snatchings in flurry and return to their village by Metro.

After the crimes, they would sell the stolen goods to a person in Ghaziabad and gamble all day long, police said.