A reported robbery of Rs 54.5 lakh involving an employee of a money transfer agent in Old Delhi turned out to be a staged crime, an official said on Tuesday. The police arrested six people and recovered Rs 50 lakh after a multi-state manhunt across Delhi, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand.
The case came to light on May 26 when Vasudev (23), a resident of Rajasthan’s Bikaner who worked for a money transfer agent in Delhi, approached the police claiming that two men had robbed him of a bag containing Rs 54.5 lakh near Fatehpuri in the Chandni Chowk area.
He told the police that his employer had entrusted him with delivering the cash to a money transfer office in Kucha Ghasiram.
He alleged that after getting out of a Rapido auto near SPM Road around 11 am, two men attacked him, snatched the cash bag and his mobile phone, tore his shirt and fled towards Pul Mithai.
A case was registered under relevant provisions of the BNS and an investigation was launched.
The police examined footage from more than 500 CCTV cameras and traced the route taken by the alleged robbers.
During the review, investigators found several inconsistencies in Vasudev’s account, the official said.
“The complainant neither resisted the robbers nor tried to chase them. The suspects appeared to be waiting for a specific person and seemed aware of the cash movement. The complainant also changed his statements during questioning and even pretended to lose consciousness shortly after the incident,” a senior police officer said.
During sustained questioning, Vasudev allegedly confessed that he had conspired with his cousin, Purushottam, and four others from Rajasthan to misappropriate the money by staging a robbery.
The police said Vasudev had informed his cousin about his job and the movement of large sums of cash. The group then hatched a plan to fake a robbery whenever he was assigned to deliver a substantial amount.
Investigators said four of the accused travelled to Delhi and stayed at a hotel in Sarai Rohilla before carrying out the plan. Two allegedly staged the robbery while the others remained nearby to provide support.
Following the confession, police conducted raids in Rajasthan and Uttarakhand. Purushottam was arrested in Rajasthan’s Jalore district on May 28. Kamal Bharti and Manful Mund were arrested in Bikaner on May 29 and May 30, respectively.
Another accused, Manoj Motasara, was arrested in Uttarakhand’s Roorkee on May 31, and police recovered Rs 16 lakh from him. The sixth accused, Ram Niwas, was arrested from a hotel in Nagaur, Rajasthan, on June 2, leading to the recovery of Rs 34 lakh.
Police said the six-day operation covered nearly 3,500 km and involved extensive technical surveillance, CCTV analysis and interstate raids.
The accused have been identified as Vasudev, Purushottam, Ram Niwas, Kamal Bharti, Manful Mund and Manoj Motasara, all residents of Rajasthan.
Further investigation is underway, and efforts continue to recover the remaining amount, police said.
