Three snatchers were arrested from Shahdara’s Seemapuri when they tried to return a mobile phone to its owner in exchange for money, police said on Wednesday.
The three accused – identified as Sajan, Sonu, and Vinay – snatched the mobile phone of a labourer named Uday Kumar near Deer Park in Dilshad Garden around 5.30 p.m. on January 20, and escaped on their bike. “When the complainant made a call to his number from a friend’s phone, the accused demanded ₹2,000 to return the phone,” Shahdara DCP Rohit Meena said.
Based on Mr. Kumar’s complaint, a trap was laid to nab the accused.
A senior police officer said, “Since he did not have the money, we gave him ₹2,000 and asked him to go to Deer Park, where the accused had called him.”
Police personnel in civil dress had surrounded the park and one officer accompanied Mr. Kumar. “The accused got suspicious during the exchange and threatened to attack the victim with blades and tried to escape, but we nabbed one of them on the spot,” said the officer.
The stolen phone, a surgical blade, shaving blade, and knife were recovered from his possession. The other two were later arrested when trying to escape from the city. They have been booked under IPC sections 382, 411, and 34, the officer added.