Three autorickshaw drivers held for snatching mobile phones in east Delhi

New Delhi, Jun 17 (PTI)Three autorickshaw drivers were arrested for allegedly snatching mobile phones from their passengers near ISBT Anand Vihar area, police said on Tuesday.

The accused have been identified as Monu Gupta (37), Mahesh Kumar (46), and Deepak (27), police said.

According to the police, the gang acted as regular auto drivers near bus terminals, picking up targets who appeared distracted while using mobile phones, or their own passengers.

"Once they identified a victim, one of them would snatch the phone and flee in the same auto, driven by the other two. Or they stop their auto at some isolated place, snatch mobile phones from their passengers and flee," said the police officer.

On June 16, a man, a resident of Unnao in Uttar Pradesh, was seen running behind an autorickshaw after one of the accused snatched his phone when he was waiting for a bus at around 12 pm.

"A patrolling team stationed near the ISBT Anand Vihar spotted the commotion and swiftly intercepted the fleeing auto at the nearby U-turn. All three accused were caught red-handed, and the stolen mobile phone was recovered. Further interrogation led to the recovery of another stolen phone," a police officer said.

Police said the three men had been living in different parts of east Delhi and were long-time friends who had bonded over a common history of substance abuse and petty theft.

The officer said that Monu, a school dropout, and Mahesh, an illiterate man with two children and Deepak are auto drivers but resorted to snatching to support their addiction to smack, drugs, and alcohol.

Further investigation into the matter is underway, he added. PTI BM HIG