French ambassador’s phone stolen in Chandni Chowk; 2 held

Delhi Police arrested two men for stealing the mobile phone of Thierry Mathou, the French Ambassador to India, when the diplomat was on a visit to Chandni Chowk on October 20, officers said on Wednesday.

The ambassador was reportedly not with any security personnel at the time of the incident, according to officers aware of the case.

The accused were identified as Mohammed Shadab, 25, resident of Mayur Vihar, and Umesh alias Chela, 25, resident of Ghaziabad, said deputy commissioner of police (north) Raja Banthia.

The French Ambassador filed an e-FIR reporting the matter on October 21.

“I, Mr Thierry Mathou report the theft of my article (s)/ belonging (s) from Jain Mandir in Chandni Chowk, Old Delhi between 15:15 and 15:30,” the e-FIR read.

However, a senior police officer who was aware of the matter said that the incident occurred in Dariba Kalan in Chandni Chowk when he was walking with his wife. “He was with his wife in Chandni Chowk. He was walking in Dariba Kalan when it happened. They had to go to other places as well. They had a plan to visit old Delhi,” the officer said.

“There was no security detail present with him. It was only his wife. There was no information with Delhi Police regarding his visit,” the officer said.

After the online complaint was lodged, a Delhi police official recorded a detailed statement the following day, and an investigation was initiated.

During the probe, police obtained and analysed CCTV footage from the area and found two persons walking close to Mathou. “Close analysis of their conduct close to the ambassador made us suspect their role. With the help of human intelligence and technical analysis, the two accused were identified,” the officer said.

They were arrested on October 26 from the areas where they reside. “Shadab was seen in the CCTV footage clearly and the phone was recovered from Umesh. They were going to sell it but were caught before they could,” the officer said.

Shadab has one criminal case registered against him while Umesh has two, the officer cited above said.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Delhi recorded at least 23 thefts every hour in 2022. The city reported a total of 205,545 thefts in 2022, which accounted for 74.34% of all theft cases in major metropolitan cities, and 31.5% of all theft cases across India, according to the NCRB data.

In terms of rate of thefts (thefts per 100,000 population), Delhi was the worst-hit city with a rate of 1,260 — much higher than the national theft rate of 242.4.