Slipping into different clothes, zigzagging on motorcycles to escape being captured on CCTV, recceing an area to blend in with the crowd — Ravi aka Karan and Akash, accused of over 155 snatchings in the Capital, did everything to escape from the law. However, the duo was arrested on Saturday using the Facial Recognition System (FRS), the Delhi Police said. Recently, acting on intel, police said a team of officers from the Anti-Snatching Cell (Southwest Delhi) and the local police was formed, which analysed footage from nearly 500 CCTVs, and deployed the FRS to identify the accused. “Based on intel and manual surveillance, the duo was identified. Riding on motorbikes, the duo had adopted various tactics — wearing helmets during snatching, slipping into different clothes after each crime to avoid identification, and zigzagging on motorcycles so they don’t get caught on camera, among others — to avoid being arrested,” DCP (Southwest) Surender Chaudhary said. After analysing their pattern, they laid a trap and arrested Ravi from Uttam Nagar and Akash from Sagarpur, and seized the motorcycle — an Apache bike — used in most of the cases, the DCP said. According to police, 32-year-old Ravi faces 90 FIRs, while 30-year-old Akash faces 65 cases. During questioning, the duo admitted to the crime, police said. They also disclosed their latest heist in Palam on May 8, where “they had snatched two gold chains”, police said, adding that further investigation is underway.
