Six held for snatchings

NEW DELHI - Six young men, who snatched mobile phones and purses of women in order to lead a lavish life and splurge on their girlfriends, were arrested in west Delhi, police said Saturday.

Anmol Bhagat, 20, Shammi Ahuja, 20, Rajan Arora, 25, Karan Kapoor, 18, Puneet Arora, 23, and Himanshu Khubani, 19, were arrested Friday from Janakpuri area in west Delhi. Police said 15 cases of snatching have been solved with their arrest.

According to police, the gang operated in areas like Vikaspuri, Janakpuri, Prashant Vihar, Tilak Nagar, Paschim Vihar and Maurya Enclave. All the accused are residents of west and north Delhi.

The gang members used to operate in groups of two. They travelled on a motorcycle and after committing a crime gave the snatched article to their associates who would be following them in a car. They usually targeted elderly women travelling on cycle rickshaws, a police official said.

All the accused were either from sound business families or were self-employed. They indulged in such crimes to buy branded clothes and take their girlfriends to discotheques, added the official.

One of them had a transport business while another was a disc jockey in a pub in Rohini,” the official said.

Police have recovered 19 mobile phones, seven handbags, two ipods, Rs.79,000, gold ornaments, three motorcycles and two cars which were used in the crimes.

Of the three seized bikes, two were stolen. The two cars - a Hyundai Santro and a Mitsubishi Lancer - were bought from the money they got by selling the stolen items, informed the official.