The North District Police has arrested six people in connection with the robbery of Rs 70 lakh near the Gulabi Bagh underpass in Delhi's Roop Nagar area and recovered Rs 30.23 lakh in cash, a motorcycle and other items, the news agency IANS reported on Wednesday, November 4, citing police officials.

Source: IANS via The Freedom Press

According to the police, the robbery took place on October 24, when the complainant was returning to Mayapuri on his scooty after collecting Rs 70 lakh in cash from Kucha Ghasi Ram in Chandni Chowk on his employer's instructions. He had placed the money in a black backpack kept on the front footrest of the scooty. At around 9.30 p.m., near D.N. Road by the Gulabi Bagh underpass and Roshanara Park, three men on a motorcycle allegedly blocked his way; one threw chilli powder into his eyes while the other two assaulted him, and the trio snatched the backpack and fled. Daily Excelsior's report of the arrests likewise highlighted the chilli-powder attack and described one of those held as a former cleaner.

Source: Daily Excelsior via MyPressToday

An FIR was registered at Roop Nagar police station on October 26 under Sections 309(6) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and a joint team of the Roop Nagar police station and the Special Staff of the North District was formed to investigate. The first breakthrough came from CCTV footage from Kucha Mahajani in Chandni Chowk, which showed two Apache motorcycles following the complainant's scooty as he left the area. Police identified the registration numbers of both motorcycles, and technical surveillance and analysis of call detail records (CDRs) helped identify the suspects, after which coordinated raids were conducted in Delhi, Rajasthan and Bihar.

Source: IANS via The Freedom Press

The six arrested accused have been identified as Chandan Kumar (20), Sushobhan alias Sonu (28), Manish Kumar alias Vicky (21), Yogesh Kumar (30), Seetu (31) and Mantu Yadav (25), residents of Bihar, Delhi and Jharkhand. Police said Yogesh Kumar was arrested from Bhiwadi in Rajasthan on October 29 and Seetu from his residence in Burari, Delhi, the same day; Chandan Kumar, Sushobhan and Manish Kumar were arrested during raids in Bihar on October 30. The alleged mastermind, Mantu Yadav, was arrested on October 31 from Fatak Barwalan in Ballimaran, Chandni Chowk, and police said a black bag containing Rs 8.10 lakh, three debit cards and a PAN card in his name were recovered from his residence.

Source: IANS via hi INDiA

According to the police, Mantu Yadav played a key role in planning and coordinating the alleged robbery: while working as a cleaner at a shop in Kucha Mahajani, he became familiar with the movement of people carrying large amounts of cash from the area, allegedly brought the other accused together and, with his associate Vakil, shared information about potential targets. Police said Mantu disclosed during interrogation that he had deposited Rs 3.01 lakh from his share into different bank accounts, including his Punjab National Bank and Bank of India accounts and accounts belonging to his mother and sister, and that the deposits are being verified through bank records. Police said Seetu has six previous involvements in robbery cases. Efforts are under way to trace and arrest two other suspects, Pawan and Vakil. The accused are in custody in an ongoing investigation; the allegations against them are yet to be tested in court.