Two who robbed realtor’s home held after shoot-out

Two men -- who, along with two others barged into a property dealer’s residence in Uttam Nagar, and robbed the house after taking the man’s family hostage on July 7-- were arrested after a shoot-out that took place on a road just two kilometres away from the crime scene on Sunday morning, police said.

One of them was hit in his leg and a constable was shot at in his bulletproof vest during the exchange of fire, police said. The duo’s interrogation led to the arrest of another suspect--the realtor’s employee who provided information about cash and jewellery kept at the businessman’s house, said police.

The robbery was captured in a CCTV camera installed inside the realtor’s house. The video footage was widely circulated on social media.

On July 7, when Vinod Shorey was in his office, four men barged into his fourth-floor flat in G-block Uttam Nagar. Shorey’s mother, Savitri Devi, wife Seema Shorey, two children and Seema’s brother Sachin were inside the house, when the suspects gained entry after telling Seema that they were electricians and have come to fix an electrical fault.

As soon as the door was opened, the four men, who were wearing caps and masks, took out a pistol and three knives, and threatened to kill Seema and other family members if they raised an alarm. They tied Seema, Sachin and Savitri with adhesive tape and ransacked the entire house. They took away ₹8 lakh cash, gold jewellery, two mobile phones and other valuables worth lakhs of rupees.

The occupants of the house untied themselves and informed Shorey, who alerted the police. A case of robbery was registered and several teams were formed to nab the robbers. After scanning CCTV footage, checking mobile phone data and further investigation, the police identified the suspects and began tracking their movements.

Deputy commissioner of police (Dwarka) Santosh Kumar Meena said on Sunday around 5 am, the police teams spotted two suspects near the Uttar Nagar bus terminal and asked them to surrender. However, they fired at the police team and tried to flee. One bullet hit a constable in his bulletproof vest.

“Our raiding team retaliated. One of the assailants was hit in his leg. He was identified as Ankush,23. His associate, Mukul, 24, was also caught. A pistol and a knife were recovered from them, along with three cartridges,” said DCP Meena.

Police said the interrogation of the two suspects led to the arrest of Deepanshu alias Vaashu (25), who is Shorey’s employee who told the robbers about cash and jewellery.

Ankush and Mukul also confessed to their involvement in two more robberies, including one in Sadar Bazar area on June 26. Both of them have previously been in jail for different crimes. Ankush was released from jail in February this year, and Mukul came out more than a year ago, the DCP said.

“We are now looking for other suspects involved in the robbery and recover the stolen items,” Meena added.