A 23-year-old man accused of robbing a four-year-old girl of her gold locket while armed with a blade in Chandni Chowk was caught after a police constable chased him for nearly 300 metres following cries for help from the victim’s family, police said.
The incident took place around 10 pm on June 3 near Town Hall in Chandni Chowk. According to the police, Head
Constable Narendra of the Red Fort police post was at the ACP Kotwali office on official duty when he heard people shouting “pakdo pakdo” and saw a man running towards Labour Chowk.
The constable immediately gave chase and caught the suspect after running about 250–300 metres. The accused was identified as Deepak (23), a resident of Sultanpuri.
The police said the accused allegedly approached the child, who was shopping with her family, threatened her with a sharp blade and cut the thread of the gold locket before fleeing.
The complainant, Manish, the victim’s uncle and a resident of Shakarpur, said the family had come to Chandni Chowk for shopping when the incident occurred. Family members raised an alarm, leading to the chase and arrest.
During search, the police recovered the stolen gold locket and the blade allegedly used in the crime. A case was registered at Kotwali police station under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and investigation was taken up by SI Rahul.
During interrogation, the accused allegedly told police he frequented Chandni Chowk market and targeted children wearing jewellery. Police said he had been involved in similar crimes for the past two years.
Deepak is a school dropout and has previous involvement in five cases of snatching, theft and Arms Act offences. Further investigation is underway.
