An armed man, who allegedly robbed a 35-year-old businessman of his gold chain and cash at gunpoint, was arrested after he returned to the victim a day later to exchange the chain for money, the police said on Tuesday.

The businessman was robbed of Rs 8,500 and a gold chain while waiting for ‘dal and naan’ to be delivered in his car outside a restaurant in Sector 45 on Sunday night, the police said.

The businessman, who did not wish to be identified, said the suspect told him that his friend was in a hospital and he was robbing him to pay hospital bills.

Later on Monday, the suspect called him on his mobile phone multiple times and said that he did not want the gold chain and would return it if he would pay him Rs 3 lakh.

On Monday night, the man approached police, who laid a trap for the accused and arrested him from the man’s car in Jharsa on Tuesday morning.

Aman Yadav, assistant commissioner of police (Sadar), said that the suspect was arrested from Jharsa village on Tuesday morning. “We are yet to find any previous criminal involvement of the accused and are not sure whether any friend of his was in the hospital. Things would become clear after interrogation,” Yadav said.

An FIR has been registered under Section 379B (snatching) of the Indian Penal Code and the Arms Act at Sector 40 police station.

The accused has been identified as Hardesh, 25, a native of Madhya Pradesh. The police also recovered a countrymade pistol and a live cartridge from him.

The man, a resident of Sector 65, said he was waiting inside his car on Sunday when he suddenly heard the back door open and the suspect put a gun to his head, asking him to start driving. About two kilometres later, the man requested him to remove the pistol from his head.

The suspect took the man to an ATM kiosk and withdrew Rs 8,500 from his account. “He kept telling me that his friend was in the hospital and he needed ₹5 lakh for it. He asked me to call someone and get the money arranged,” the businessman said.

The man told him that there was no one at his house and he could take his gold chain. “He snatched the chain and left.”

The police said the accused had got the businessman’s number from his visiting card, which he had taken from him on Sunday.

“The accused asked the man to come to Jharsa village and at a particular point, got inside the car,” the officer said. As soon as the accused got inside the car, plainclothes police officers in a private vehicle arrested him.

First Published: Mar 20, 2019 01:42 IST