Delhi Police have apprehended a robbery gang who cleverly posed as government officials to deceive and steal from unsuspecting passengers near the bustling New Delhi railway station.
Delhi Police has arrested three members of a robbery gang who posed as government officials to cheat and rob unsuspecting passengers near the New Delhi railway station, officials said on Tuesday.
The accused have been identified as Krishan Kumar (50), an auto driver from Fatehpur Beri in Delhi, Ravi Kumar (50) from Agra, and Rahul Gupta (32), also from Fatehpur Beri, they said.
Police said the gang targeted passengers waiting for public transport near the New Delhi railway station and adjoining areas, posing as officials conducting "security verification".
Krishan would pick up victims in his auto, Rahul would pose as a co-passenger to gain their trust, while Ravi Kumar, the alleged mastermind, would pose as a government official and carry out the fake verification, police said.
On the pretext of checking, the accused would take cash and ATM cards from the victims, obtain the PIN and replace the original cards with duplicate ones placed inside an envelope, which the victims were asked to open only after reaching home.
The gang would then withdraw money using the stolen cards, police said.
The matter came to light on March 12 when a PCR call was received at the Kamla Market police station reporting a robbery.
The complainant, a resident of Faridabad, told police that he reached Delhi from Darbhanga in Bihar and was waiting for a bus near the Tagore Road cut when an auto driver approached him and offered a ride to Badarpur.
During the journey, two more persons boarded the auto, one of whom introduced himself as a government official and began checking the complainant's belongings on the pretext of security verification, a senior police officer said.
The accused took Rs 13,000 in cash from the victim along with his ATM card and handed him an envelope, claiming his belongings were inside.
The complainant later found the items missing, before realising that Rs 52,000 had been withdrawn from his account.
Police analysed CCTV camera footage from multiple locations and traced the route of the auto used in the crime.
The vehicle's registration number had been partially concealed with tape, but the investigators were able to identify it after verifying several numbers.
Police then conducted a raid at Asola in Fatehpur Beri and arrested the three accused.
During interrogation, the accused confessed to the crime and revealed their modus operandi.
Police have recovered Rs 12,500 in cash and the complainant's SBI debit card from the accused's possession, the officer said.