Not wearing helmets proves too costly for vehicle thieves

The incident took place near Laxman Public School located in IIT area at 12:30 pm when traffic personnel patrolling the area on their two-wheeler signalled riders of the two motorcycles to stop as they were not wearing helmets.

The offenders did not bother to stop, prompting the traffic personnel -- Head Constable Satya Prakash and Constable Sanaul Haq -- to give a chase on their vehicle with the sirens on.

Hearing the siren and sensing some trouble, two civilians -- an HRD employee Vinay Chandra and an auto driver Gurdev Singh -- also joined the traffic personnel and helped them nab the offenders.

Chandra gave a chase on his motorcycle while Singh blocked the road by placing his auto-rickshaw in the middle of the road. "As I blocked the road, Chandra came from behind and caught the duo," Singh said.

According to Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Satyendra Garg, his personnel were not aware that they were fleeing with a stolen vehicle.

"Seven minutes ago, they stole the vehicle from the Safdurjung Hospital parking lot. The personnel did not know they were auto-thieves. They spotted riders on two motorcycles without helmets and started chasing. While one escaped, another motorcycle was intercepted," Garg said.

Soon after the duo were caught, Garg said, police personnel asked the riders to show the documents of the motorcycle they were riding. They admitted that they had just stolen a motorcycle from Safdarjung Hospital parking area, he told reporters.

"The two policemen and the civilians have shown utmost courage, dedication and sense of duty in apprehending two auto-lifters," he said.

B K Gupta, Delhi Police Commissioner, announced a cash reward of Rs 5,000 with a recommendation roll to the police personnel and civilians in recognition of their alertness and commitment.