Fallen mobile phone helps crack case in hours

A mobile phone that fell from a robber’s pocket during the theft of ₹18 lakh in Chandni Chowk on Tuesday evening helped the police crack the case in a matter of hours, the police said on Wednesday.

“The phone had a WhatsApp group, with the robbers as its members. That helped us nab the accused,” said a police officer.

Armed robbers had barged into a stationery shop located on the first floor in Chandni Chowk’s Old Lajpat Rai market around 5.30 p.m. on Tuesday. Two employees were in the shop at the time of the incident and had brought payments totalling ₹18 lakh in the shop minutes before the incident took place.

“The employees were waiting for directions from the owner when a youth entered with a bag in his hand. Just as the employees started enquiring why he was in the shop, two others entered with bags in their hand and closed the door. They took out pistols from the bags and asked the two employees to stay quiet. They tied them with a rope and put tape on their mouths before fleeing with ₹18 lakh and some documents,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Jatin Narwal.

The matter was reported at Kotwali police station. A search led the police to the mobile phone. When asked, the employees told the police it did not belong to them. Information from the phone and the shop’s CCTV camera footage shop gave the police vital clues.

“We formed teams and conducted raids in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. One Mohsin Alam from Maujpur was detained for questioning. He confessed to involvement in the robbery,” said Mr. Narwal.

Mohsin also disclosed the names of his accomplices, who were arrested from various hideouts in Delhi and Ghaziabad. “The others were identified as Sarfraz Alam, Amaan, Kasim and Sachin. We have seized ₹13,86,500, three countrymade pistols with 19 live cartridges and a motorcycle. Efforts are on to trace the remaining amount,” said Mr. Narwal.