Delhi cops bust snatcher gang, solve 10 theft cases

New Delhi, Sep 4 (PTI) Delhi Police on Thursday claimed to have solved at least 10 cases of theft and mobile phone snatching with the arrest of five men in two separate operations in west Delhi's Nangloi area.

The accused have been identified as Ankit (24), Joginder (26), Akash (21), Akbar (21) and Rahul (30), a police official said. Fifteen stolen mobile phones, one country-made pistol, a knife and two stolen two-wheelers were recovered from their possession after dramatic chases on Wednesday.

"Ankit, who was recently released from jail on August 23, has a history of 15 criminal cases, including theft, burglary and snatching," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer) Sachin Sharma said.

In the first operation on September 3, head constable Than Singh and constable Dinesh were on picket duty near the Kirari Railway Line. They stopped the two men riding a motorcycle without helmets. On seeing the police, the duo tried to escape but were intercepted after a brief chase.

The men were later identified as Joginder and Ankit. During their search, police recovered seven stolen mobile phones along with the pistol. The motorcycle they were riding was found to have been stolen from Prem Nagar in Rohini.

In the second operation the same day, another team intercepted Akash, Akbar and Rahul on a scooter near Kirari Road. They reportedly tried to flee after spotting a patrol team, but they were nabbed after a chase, police said. The scooter they used was stolen from Nangloi.

Police recovered a knife and eight stolen phones from their possession.

The 10 cases of snatching and theft were reported from Outer, West, Northwest and Central districts, including those registered at Paschim Vihar West, Rajendra Nagar, Keshav Puram, Punjabi Bagh and Moti Nagar.

The linkage of the stolen phones is yet to be traced. PTI BM SMV BM SMV MIN MIN