Men hold post office guard captive, decamp with lakhs; one arrested

NEW DELHI: After ATMS and ATM vans, post offices in the city are now being targeted by criminals. Five to six robbers looted a post office in Delhi’s Anand Vihar after they reportedly drugged the security guards late Sunday night. Meanwhile, in an impressive display of police work, Delhi Police arrested one accused and reportedly cracked the case with 12 hours.

The robbers managed to flee with 17 cash-filled bags, the total amount of which is yet to be determined. Sources in the police say that the amount could be between Rs 15 and 17 lakh.

Police were informed of the loot within a few hours, in the early hours of Monday. When cops reached the post office, the two guards were found to be in an intoxicated state. This made the job easy for the robbers, as the guards could not raise an alarm. The robbers were seemingly wellversed with the topography of the post office. “We have solved the case. One accused named Wasim, a resident of Gautam Buddh Nagar, has been arrested. Efforts are on to nab his other associates,” said a senior police officer.

Interestingly, the arrested accused told cops that his other associates swindled him and gave him a packet saying it contained around Rs 3,00,000. After opening the packet, however, he found only Rs 26,000. Wasim was caught from Anand Vihar station while he was trying to flee. 32 small post offices in the area were connected with the looted post office.