Army aspirants chase down thieves fleeing in autorickshaw; win praise, reward from Delhi police

PTI

New Delhi, June 5

In a scene straight out of a Bollywood flick, two Army aspirants chased down mobile phone snatchers who were fleeing in an autorickshaw and managed to recover the device after a fight.

The bravery of Mohsin and his friend Shehzad has earned them a reward of Rs 2,000 each and a commendation certificate from the Delhi Police, according to officials.

The incident took place on June 1, when Mohsin and Shehzad were returning to their hometown in Uttar Pradesh’s Hapur after meeting the former’s sister in Sangam Vihar, Wazirabad, here.

“I and Shehzad were walking from Gujjar Chowk towards Wazirabad Mother Dairy one after the other. Around 6.25 am, an autorickshaw suddenly stopped there. A man got out of the autorickshaw and strangled me from behind while I was talking on the phone. He fled with my mobile phone in the same autorickshaw,” Mohsin said in his complaint.

Meanwhile, Shehzad, who was walking behind Mohsin, chased the autorickshaw and managed to get inside the moving vehicle. Later, Mohsin managed to stop the vehicle, according to the complaint.

There was a scuffle between the two sides and the complainant and his friend sustained minor injuries. Mohsin and Shehzad managed to recover the mobile phone, nabbed the accused and handed them over to the police, a senior official said.

The accused were identified as Salman (22), the autorickshaw driver, and Saddam (22), who snatched the mobile phone. Both of them are residents of Seelampur here, the police said.

Mohsin and Shehzad will be rewarded with Rs 2,000 each along with a commendation certificate for their act of bravery on Monday, they said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Sagar Singh Kalsi said, “An FIR was registered under sections 392 (robbery), 394 (voluntarily causing hurt in committing robbery), 411 (dishonestly receiving stolen property) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code at Wazirabad police station and the two accused were arrested in the matter.”

The accused persons usually targeted people early in the morning at isolated places. The autorickshaw used in the commission of the crime and three mobile phones were recovered from them. It is being verified if the recovered mobile phones were also stolen, he said.