Road accident leads to arrest of mobile snatcher in central Delhi

A 22-year-old man was arrested after a road mishap exposed his alleged involvement in a mobile phone snatching spree in central Delhi, police said on Monday.

The accused, Ritik alias Kalwa, a resident of Paharganj, was caught near the Model Basti red light on Rani Jhansi Road and three mobile phones, suspected to be stolen, were recovered from his possession, they said.

According to police, a constable was on routine patrolling in the early hours of January 27 noticed a motorcycle carrying three youngsters collide with a stationary car.

On seeing the police approaching, the trio allegedly became nervous and tried to flee.

Sensing something amiss, the constable chased them and managed to nab one of the riders, while the other two escaped on the motorcycle, police said.

During a search, police recovered three mobile phones from the accused and further investigation revealed that one of the phones was linked to a snatching case registered at Moti Nagar police station, while another was connected to a similar case in Lahori Gate police station, police said.

According to the police, the accused failed to produce ownership documents for the third phone.

During interrogation, Ritik allegedly disclosed that he, along with associates Waseem and Saleem — both residents of Nabi Karim — had stolen a motorcycle from the Anand Parbat area about 10 to 12 days earlier, police said.

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The trio allegedly used the stolen bike to carry out mobile snatchings in different parts of the city, they said.

Further efforts are underway to trace the absconding co-accused and verify the ownership of the recovered mobile phones, police added.