Three arrested in Delhi heist; Rs.2.36 crore recovered

Two days after the audacious Rs 5.25 crore heist in south Delhi, police on Sunday claimed to have cracked the case with the arrest of three persons including a robber and recovered Rs.2.36 crore.

Police said it has recovered over Rs 2.36 crore out of the money looted from a cash van of a cash replenishment agency in upscale Defence Colony on Friday afternoon, after a security guard who resisted the five robbers was shot. The guard succumbed to the bullet wound.

Investigators said at least four more robbers are to be apprehended in the case though the first arrest was made on Saturday.

The breakthrough in the case came after police managed to fish out dossiers from its records as victims, eye-witnesses and informers providing detailed description of suspects who were spotted in south Delhi's Malviya Nagar and Khirki areas.

Vivek Gogia, Joint Commissioner (South-West), confirmed the arrest of Deepak Sharma, who was allegedly involved in the crime with four others, at a press conference in New Delhi though he kept silent on the arrest of the relatives of another accused who had hidden a big chuk of the looted money.

Police sources said two relatives of the another accused, who is on the run, were arrested and were produced before court. However, they refused to divulge the names of the arrested saying it could impede the investigations.

The gang had waylaid the cash van, pinned down a security guard and shot him after he tried to snatch their weapons.

They fled the spot in the cash van leaving behind the car in which they were following the vehicle.

They abandoned the car in Hauz Rani and later empty cash boxes were found in Khirki village where police deployed personnel in plain clothes on surveillance.

Detailing on the line of investigation, Gogia said four youths were spotted by some locals in Khirki with big boxes and with their description, a portrait of one of the suspects was developed.