Delhi Police arrests proclaimed offender wanted in 2016 robbery case

New Delhi, Nov 23 (PTI) The Delhi Police has arrested a 30-year-old proclaimed offender wanted in a 2016 robbery case involving a foreign tourist, officials said on Sunday.

Rahul Bhardwaj, a resident of Kapashera, was declared a proclaimed offender by a city court on July 19 after he failed to join the trial despite securing bail in the case, they said.

According to police, in August 2016, a foreign tourist reported that a man posing as a cab driver offered her a ride from Gurugram to Chhatarpur in Delhi.

“However, the driver diverted the vehicle towards Karol Bagh. When she objected, she was assaulted, and robbed of her cash. The accused also attempted to snatch her mobile phone. As the victim resisted, she was pushed out of the moving vehicle,” a police officer said.

Bhardwaj and one of his accomplices, Amit, were arrested during the initial investigation but the former absconded after his release on bail.

“Acting on inputs about his movement, a team arrested Bhardwaj from Jaipur. He previously worked as a tourist guide and was also arrested in a touting case at the IGI Airport in 2020. He worked in Kerala, Goa and Jaipur while evading court proceedings,” the officer said. PTI BM ARI ARI