The Hindu : New Delhi News : Man arrested, robberies solved

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jul 26, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Man arrested, robberies solved

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, JULY 25. A 32-year-old man allegedly involved in sensational cases of robbery reported from different parts of the Capital was arrested following a brief encounter with the Crime Branch at Sarita Vihar in South Delhi on Saturday. The police recovered a pistol, 25 cartridges and stolen cash of Rs. 65,000 and fixed-deposit documents worth Rs. 2 lakhs from his possession.

The Anti-Extortion Cell of the Crime Branch received a tip-off that Satish, who had been residing with his accomplices at Noida Sector 41, would come to South Delhi this Saturday. Subsequently, a police team comprising Sub-inspectors Suresh, Rajeev, Surender Gulia and Jagdish, obtained the registration number of a Maruti car being used by him and laid a trap for him.

Soon after the vehicle was spotted, the team members began trailing it and intercepted it at Sarita Vihar. The accused, however, opened fire at the police upon which the police party too opened fire at him and then overpowered Satish. Enquiries revealed that Satish, son of an industrial labourer, earlier worked as a helper in a chemist shop. Owing to a dispute over something, he stabbed the chemist and was arrested in 1989. After being released from jail, he started stealing vehicles and also committed robberies. In 1992, he was booked for rape and during this period he came in touch with a notorious criminal, Brij Mohan, and joined his gang.

During interrogation, Satish confessed to his involvement in several sensational robbery cases in Delhi. In almost all the cases, he targeted people who had withdrawn huge amount of money from banks.

On November 4 last year, he and his accomplices robbed a wholesale dealer of food grains of Rs. 10 lakhs after pumping three bullets in him near Zakhira flyover. The businessman had withdrawn the money from the Central Market Punjabi Bagh branch of Bank of Punjab. Exactly a month later, Satish and others targeted a 60-year-old businessman who had withdrawn Rs. 2.80 lakhs from South Indian Bank at Rohini amd was on his way to his shop at Naraina in a Maruti Wagon-R car. The accused, who were in a Santro, intercepted the Wagon-R at Saraswati Vihar, broke its glasses and on gunpoint robbed the businessman of the bag carrying money.

Satish disclosed that in March this year, he received information that a resident of Pitampura, Sandeep Gulati, and his brother, Saurabh, would go to the Rohini branch of Bank of Punjab to withdraw huge amount of money. Subsequently, his accomplices started trailing the prospective victims. Pradeep and Saurabh hired a Tata Indica car on March 4, went to the bank and withdrew Rs. 15 lakhs. They were nearing their residence when the accused, in a Santro car again, intercepted them and took away the money after firing at and injuring Saurabh.

Earlier this February, Satish and his accomplices had robbed a man of Rs. 1.25 lakhs when he came out after withdrawing the money from the Rohini branch of Bank of Punjab. Satish disclosed that he used to invest the looted money in different businesses. He had recently opened a shop named S.S. Computers in Noida. In 1997, he had opened a hotel at Baroda in Gujarat. At his instance, the police also recovered another Maruti car. A hunt has been launched for his accomplices. The Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch), Tejinder Luthra, said the team members would be rewarded for the splendid job.

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