DCW chief’s phone stolen, police recover it in 6 hours
New Delhi:
The mobile phone of Delhi Commission for Women chairman Swati Maliwal was allegedly stolen while she was intervening in a quarrel between a man and a woman in central Delhi’s Paharganj on Monday evening.
Police said they used the phone’s location, CCTV footage and local informers to nab the suspect within six hours of the incident. “We have recovered the stolen iPhone from the suspect and handed it over to Maliwal after legal formalities,” said Mandeep Singh Randhawa, deputy commissioner of police (central district).
Police identified the arrested suspect as 25-year-old Rohan alias Vinod, a man allegedly involved in other thefts as well as an incident of snatching in the past. “He had earlier been arrested for a snatching incident in Nabi Karim,” said another investigator.
Maliwal said she was on her way to Paharganj to rescue an elderly woman who was “abandoned” by her daughter. Around 7 pm, as we walked on Paharganj Main Bazar Road, I saw a rickshaw puller and a woman fighting with each other. I intervened, separated them and counselled them. Five minutes later, I realised that my phone was missing from my pocket,” said Maliwal.
Maliwal alleged that the quarrelling couple disappeared moments later, prompting her to suspect they were hand in glove with the phone thief. But the investigator said they were yet to find evidence to support that suspicion.
“My phone had crucial documents,” said Maliwal.
The police officer said a case was registered and the phone put on surveillance as no CCTV footage was found from the crime spot.
“When we found the phone’s location in another part of central Delhi, we checked CCTV footage in that neighbourhood to zero down on a suspect who was loitering around with two other men. Our local informers identified the suspect as Rohan. He had the stolen phone with him,” said the officer.