Multi-cr heist accused held after shootout

MASTERMIND 11th arrest in case, Pradeep arranged for stolen car for robbery; police seize ‘substantial’ cash from him

NEW DELHI: More than a month after the Lajpat Nagar multicrore heist, the Delhi Police nabbed one of the alle ged masterminds after a shootout in northwest Delhi’s Sultanpuri on Monday afternoon.

Pradeep, alias Machchender, is the 11th person arrested in the case.

Two of his associates, however, managed to escape and the police are searching for them. They have been identified as Amit and Arjun.

SN Shrivastava, special commissioner of police ( special cell), confirmed the incident but refused to share more details.

On January 28, a gang of armed men had intercepted a property dealer’s car in broad daylight on a busy road at Lajpat Nagar and made away with more than ` 7 crore in cash.

“We had information that Pradeep would reach Sultanpuri in a hired taxi to meet some of his associates before crossing the Haryana border,” said a senior police officer privy to the operation.

A team of the special cell reached the area and found Pradeep and three other men — including the driver of the vehicle — and moved in on them. Sensing trouble, Pradeep opened fire on the police team, jumped into the white Innova he had hired and asked its driver to speed away.

The police then re por tedly shot at the vehicle’s rear wheels, puncturing it and managed to overpower Pradeep. “However, Amit and Arjun managed to jump out of the car’s windows and run away. But we suspect they did not have a major role in the incident except harbouring Pradeep after the heist,” the officer said.

The special cell seized a ‘ substantial amount’ of cash from Pradeep but said they were yet to verify the exact amount.

The police said Pradeep had hatched the entire conspiracy with the assistance of Madangir resident Shakti Naydu, Ajay and others. It was he who had arranged for the stolen vehicle for the robbery.

Naydu, the operational mastermind of the robbery, had already surrendered before a court. He is being questioned in police custody.

“Investigations in the matter are on and more arrests are likely to be made in the coming days,” the officer added.