3 held for robbing senior citizen of Rs 3.5 lakh

New Delhi: Three members of a gang, who posed as customers inside a bank to identify potential targets, have been arrested for allegedly robbing a senior citizen of Rs 3.5 lakh after he withdrew cash from the bank in outernorth Delhi’s Burari, police said on Monday.

The incident took place on November 27 when the victim withdrew Rs 3.5 lakh from the Burari branch of a bank, they said.

Five men on two motorcycles allegedly followed him from the bank, tracked his movement and intercepted him at a secluded stretch along the Bawana–Narela belt, where they robbed him of the money, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outernorth) Hareshwar Swami said.

A case was registered and the police began analysing CCTV footage, mobile records and conducting ground surveillance.

The police said three accused, identified as Karan (21) of East Gokalpuri, Sachin (22) of Mandoli Extension and Akash (24) of Chandinagar in Uttar Pradesh, were arrested. During interrogation, they allegedly revealed that the robbery was planned in coordination with two absconding associates — Lovely, the alleged mastermind, and Mohan alias Gandhi — who remain on the run.

Investigators uncovered a coordinated modus operandi in which members of the gang posed as customers inside the bank to identify potential targets.

The police said two men tailed the victim inside the bank to confirm that he was carrying a large amount of cash before the gang followed him out and struck at an isolated location.

From the arrested trio, the police recovered Rs 58,000 - Rs 6,000 and Rs 22,000 from the homes of Karan and Sachin respectively, and Rs 30,000 from a local moneylender to whom Karan had repaid a loan.