JOIN USCash van robber's lawyer arrested
Police have arrested the lawyer of the prime accused in the sensational Rs 5.25 crore cash van heist in south Delhi’s Defence Colony last month after being told that she had been given Rs 80 lakh after the robbery.
Jyoti Batra, 27, a Raghuvir Nagar resident, was held on Tuesday after 34-year-old Deepak Sharma revealed he had given her a bag containing cash. “Based on what Deepak told us, the bag used for carrying money and Rs 70 lakh were recovered from Jyoti’s homes at Raghubir Nagar and Chanakya Place,” said Chhaya Sharma, deputy commissioner of police (south).
At her instance, Rs 10 lakh was later recovered from Mandawli resident Pawan Sharma, who is known to be her friend from college. “He was asked to keep the money in safe custody as some income tax problem had arisen at Jyoti’s house, and she was expecting a raid from the income tax department,” Sharma added.
Jyoti, a practicing lawyer at Rohini court, graduated from Lloyd Law College in Greater Noida in 2007. After working with some seniors, she started independent practice.
“She is Deepak’s advocate in a murder case lodged with RK Puram police station,” Sharma said. She became friendly with Deepak, who used to visit her house frequently and used to treat her as his sister.
Till now, 11 persons have been arrested in the case. Teams of south district police are working on the case and have mounted surveillance at various places.
Deepak was arrested on September 29 in Savitri Nagar in Malviya Nagar. He told police that Rs 1.5 crore of the total loot, and a 9 mm pistol and bullets were kept in his house in Pushp Vihar sector 5. The others involved in the robbery, in which a guard was shot dead, were identified after disclosures made by him.