The incident took place in Malviya Nagar in south Delhi on Wednesday, the police said. (File)
Trying to challan two men for not wearing a mask in public, a Delhi Police constable on patrolling duty in Northwest Delhi clicked their photographs, seconds before they ran away after pointing a pistol at the constable. The incident took place on July 27 in Maurya Enclave, and the photos taken to issue Covid challan have now helped track down the two men — of whom one has 59 previous involvement in cases of snatching and robbery in Delhi and Haryana.
“The photos were run through the Delhi Police’s facial recognition system (FRS) to find clues or criminal records. The photos were very clear and helped identify the accused as Sunil, who has 59 previous cases against him in Delhi and Haryana, and Amit, a resident of Narela, who has 15 previous cases against him. The FRS has their details because they have previously been arrested,” DCP (Northwest) Vijayanta Arya said.
When the police team raided Sunil’s house, the 27-year-old was found hiding inside an almirah.
DCP Arya said, “A pistol, three live cartridges, and three snatched mobile phones were recovered. They also disclosed that they got the illegal weapon from Tarun (22), who too has been arrested. Amit and Sunil targeted people, especially women, in isolated areas and at odd hours.”