A robbery of Rs 54.5 lakh reported by an employee of a money transfer agent in Old Delhi turned out to be a self-staged crime, an official said on Wednesday. Police arrested six people and recovered Rs 50 lakh after a multi-state manhunt spanning 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 police claiming that two men robbed him of a bag containing Rs 54.5 lakh near Fatehpuri in the Chandni Chowk area.
The complainant said he was entrusted by his employer to deliver the cash to a money transfer office in Kucha Ghasiram. He alleged that after getting down from 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.
Police examined footage from more than 500 CCTV cameras and traced the route taken by the alleged robbers. During scrutiny of the footage, investigators noticed several inconsistencies in Vasudev’s version, the official said.
“The complainant neither resisted the robbers nor attempted to chase them. The suspects appeared to be waiting for a specific person and had information about 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.
Under sustained interrogation, Vasudev allegedly confessed that he had conspired with his cousin Purushottam and four others from Rajasthan to misappropriate the money by staging a robbery.
Police said Vasudev had informed his cousin about his job and the movement of large amounts of cash, and the group then hatched a plan to fake a robbery whenever he was assigned to deliver a substantial sum.
Investigators said four of the accused travelled to Delhi and stayed at a hotel in Sarai Rohilla before executing the plan. Two of them allegedly carried out the staged robbery, while the others remained nearby to provide support, they said.
Following the confession, police raided places in Rajasthan and Uttarakhand. Purushottam was apprehended from Rajasthan’s Jalore district on May 28. Kamal Bharti and Manful Mund were arrested from Bikaner on May 29 and May 30, respectively.
Another accused, Manoj Motasara, was arrested from Uttarakhand’s Roorkee on May 31, and Rs 16 lakh was recovered 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 kilometres 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 are under way to recover the remaining amount, police said.
