Two held for robbing UPSC aspirant in Delhi

Two men have been arrested for allegedly robbing a UPSC aspirant of his mobile phone in Timarpur area of north Delhi, police said on Sunday.

With their arrest, the police claimed to have solved four cases of robbery, snatching and vehicle theft.

The accused have been identified as Rajender alias Kallu (28), a history-sheeter of Shalimar Bagh, and Upender Shah (25), both residents of Mukundpur and originally from Nepal.

According to the police, the robbery took place on July 6 around 5 am near CNG Park in Timarpur when Ankit Singh Kushwaha (25), a UPSC aspirant, was returning home after studying at a library.

“Two men intercepted him, choked him, assaulted him with fists and robbed him of his mobile phone before fleeing on foot,” an officer said.

An FIR was registered at Timarpur police station, following which a special team launched an investigation. The team examined footage from around 110 CCTV cameras and traced the movement of the suspects.

Clear images of the accused were obtained from one of the cameras and shared with local informers. After searching nearly 150 houses in Mukundpur, the police apprehended both accused from their rented accommodation on July 10.

“During interrogation, the duo confessed to stealing a scooter from the Adarsh Nagar area on the intervening night of July 5 and 6 to commit robberies. The stolen two-wheeler was allegedly used in the Timarpur robbery,” the officer said.

Police recovered the robbed mobile phone and the stolen scooter. Verification revealed that the scooter had been stolen in a case registered at Adarsh Nagar police station.

Based on the disclosures, police said two other snatching cases registered at Timarpur police station were also worked out. Rajender is allegedly involved in 14 previous cases of robbery, snatching and theft, while Upender has been previously booked in two similar cases.