Engineering student, two police teams join hands to nab snatcher

An engineering student, a passerby and two police teams came together to catch two motorcycle-borne snatchers after an eight kilometre chase in central Delhi Saturday morning, police said.

The chase lasted over 20 minutes as the snatchers swerved through main roads and narrow alleys to evade the policemen , said Madhur Verma, deputy commissioner of police (New Delhi).

The DCP identified the suspects as Mohd Rafique and Shahbaz, two 18-year-old residents of central Delhi’s Nabi Karim. “They had been involved in many snatching incidents when they were minors, but got off easily because of their age. This time, they are adults and have been booked for robbery,” said Verma.

If convicted under IPC section 392 (robbery), the accused men could be jailed for up to 10 years.

The man targeted by the suspects was 19-year-old Abhishek Kumar, a first year engineering student who lives in New Delhi’s Kali Bari and was walking towards Talkatora Stadium at around 6 am on Saturday.

“I was at the Kali Bari Marg Chauraha and was speaking to a friend over phone when two men on a motorcycle approached me. One of them caught me tightly by my waist while the other snatched my phone and pushed me to the ground,” said Kumar.

As the snatchers fled on their motorcycle, Kumar managed to note down their vehicle’s registration number. “I immediately signalled a passing scooter rider to help me chase the snatchers. The passerby obliged,” he said.

But as the scooter neared the Mandir Marg police station, Kumar sought help from the police there. “I hurriedly explained the situation to them and they immediately launched their chase,” said Kumar.

Kumar hopped on to one policeman’s motorcycle while two other policemen followed on another two-wheeler.

DCP Verma said that the presence of those three policemen at that spot was no coincidence. “The areas had been witnessing many snatching incidents, because of which we decided to deploy some special teams at strategic locations during the morning and evening hours when these crimes are usually committed,” said the DCP.

Kumar soon spotted the suspects riding their motorcycle on Panchkuian Road. “The snatchers knew that they were being chased and swiftly took to alleys to escape, but the policemen kept them within sight during the hot chase,” said the officer.

In the meantime, the policemen also alerted their counterparts in the central district of the police since the suspects were moving towards Karol Bagh neighbourhood.

“When we entered Prasad Nagar, we spotted some policemen waiting for the suspects. The policemen with me immediately blew their whistles and alerted their counterparts on the ground,” said Kumar.

The alert prompted the policemen on the ground to place their two motorcycles on the road to intercept the snatchers. They were caught and were found to be carrying Kumar’s mobile phone, said the police