Robbers nabbed after alert cop identifies them from CCTV grab

NEW DELHI: Two robbers were caught at a check post in east Delhi’s Karawal Nagar on Monday after a policeman identified one of them from a CCTV footage image circulated in police’s Whatsapp groups.

The two arrested men, identified by their first names as Rajesh and Anmol, confessed to their involvement in the robbery that took place in east Delhi’s Anand Vihar last Friday, said Atul Kumar Thakur, deputy commissioner of police (north-east). Their search led to the recovery of a pistol.

The robbery had occurred on Friday afternoon when a man was passing by a bank in Anand Vihar on his motorcycle. “Two men carrying a pistol intercepted him and robbed him of his bag containing ₹50,000 in cash,” said Thakur.

While probing the robbery, the police found CCTV footage of one of the suspects. Carrying a pistol in his hand, the man was captured running away from the crime spot. As is the practice, the suspect’s image was circulated among the policemen on Whatsapp groups.

On Monday evening, a group of policemen deployed at a picket in Karawal Nagar noticed two motorcycle-borne men approach them. “Their response on noticing the police seemed suspicious and they appeared to be in a hurry to get away. They were looking to take a U-turn and escape checking, but were unable to,” an investigator said.

But as they were being asked to produce their motorcycle’s documents and share their details, a police constable on patrol duty passing by the picket suddenly stopped.

“The constable found one of the two men’s faces familiar. He recollected hard and remembered that he had seen his photo on Whatsapp in connection with a robbery case. The suspect was wearing the same shirt that was seen in the image,” said the investigator. When interrogated, the suspect Rajesh confessed he was involved in the Anand Vihar robbery, said the DCP.