Businessman, employee held for staged robbery

NEW DELHI - A businessman and his employee have been arrested for staging a robbery with the help of three contract criminals and looting Rs.40 lakh in south Delhi’s Sainik Farms neighbourhood, police said Thursday.

“Acting on a complaint registered with the police on Aug 23, by Vikram Sibal and his business partner Chaitanya Bhardwaj that Rs.40 lakh along with their mobile phones, wrist watches and car keys were snatched by three youths, we initiated the preliminary investigations,” a senior police official told IANS.

Suspecting an insider’s role in the case, police interrogated Salim, an employee of Bhardwaj, who broke down and revealed a conspiracy hatched by him and his employer Bhardwaj.

Salim along with Bhardwaj, hired three hired men and enacted the drama of robbing Sibal and Bhardwaj as soon as they received a payment from a client. Salim (38) and Bhardwaj (38) have been arrested, police said.

Police officials say that Bhardwaj has previously been involved in three cases of cheating.

“The police have recovered Rs.35 lakh in cash, one wrist watch and a car used in crime,” said a police official.

A hunt is on to nab the three hired criminals, police said.