New Delhi: The Delhi police have busted a pickpocket gang and arrested five women for allegedly stealing purses and bags in Delhi metro trains, officials said on Friday.
According to the police, the gang would use their infants to pick up a fight with female passengers on the train to divert their attention and steal from them.
The matter came to light on Tuesday when a woman filed a complaint stating that her purse containing Rs 50,000 and her PAN card was stolen in the metro train when she was travelling between Rajiv Chowk Metro Station and Rajendra Place Metro station. An FIR was registered against unknown persons, Deputy Commissioner of Police (metro) K P S Malhotra said.
"The team scanned CCTV cameras of Rajiv Chowk Metro station and tracked the movement of the complainant from her boarding station to Rajendra Place. The team also checked CCTV footage of the metro coach and it was apparent that five women surrounded the complainant from all sides in the crowd. Surprisingly, two of them were carrying infants in their laps and both were trying to divert the attention of the complainant," the DCP said.
Other women, part of the gang, stealthily took a small purse from the victim’s handbag. All of the accused then deboarded at RK Ashram Marg metro station, he said.
On Wednesday, acting on a tip-off, the police nabbed the five accused from Connaught Place while they were moving towards Rajiv Chowk Metro station, he said.
The police recovered Rs 44,900 and PAN card of the complainant from the accused, DCP said.
"The accused disclosed that all of them joined together to operate in a group with common intention to commit theft at crowded Metro stations," he said, adding that each of the accused persons has a specified role in the group.
Published 12 April 2024, 15:25 IST