3 highway robbers, involved in over 100 cases, arrested

THE MEN TRAVELLED IN A CAR AND MOSTLY TARGETED PASSENGERS WAITING FOR TRANSPORT AT INTERSTATE BUS TERMINALS

nNEW DELHI: The Delhi Police’s crime branch on Monday said they have arrested three interstate highway robbers who were involved in nearly 100 cases of robberies in Delhi and neighbouring states, 33 of which were committed in the last three months.

The police said the arrested men travelled in a car and mostly targeted passengers waiting for cabs or public transport at interstate bus terminals in Delhi’s Kashmere Gate, Anand Vihar and Haryana’s Gurugram and Panipat. The gang leader, Mohammad Dulare alias Dilawar, posed as the driver of a private cab while the other two – Amir Paswan and Sunil Paswan – used to sit on the rear seat as passengers.

“They only approached passenger standing alone and offered him cheaper ride to his destination on seat-and-fare sharing basis. The two suspects used to make the passenger sit between them on the rear seat. After reaching a secluded place, the three overpowered the passenger, thrash him and rob him of his cash and other valuables,” said deputy commissioner of police (crime) G Ram Gopal Naik.

On February 10, DCP Naik said, the three men robbed a Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable, posted in Mumbai, while he was on the way to his hometown, Meerut. The constable, Ravinder Singh, was waiting for a bus at Anand Vihar bus terminal when the trio tricked him into sitting in their car after offering a shared ride.

“For almost 16 hours, the robbers roamed around the city by confining Singh in their car and withdrew money from different ATMS using his debit card. They also purchased jewellery with his card. Around 9 pm, Singh managed to escape from their custody in Bawana and approached the police,” the DCP said.

A case was registered on Singh’s complaint and investigation was taken up. The crime branch team got inputs about the involvement of Dilawar gang in the crime. On Sunday, the three were arrested from Delhi’s Shalimar village, following information about their whereabouts.

“Five stolen cellphones, one laptop, gold jewellery and the Santro car they used in the crimes were recovered after their interrogation,” added Naik.