Lawyer arrested for Defence Colony heist

Police said with the latest recovery of cash,the total money recovered till now has crossed Rs 3 crore.

Rs 5.25 crore was looted by armed men who waylaid a cash van,which was transferring money for ICICI Bank,on a service lane leading to a petrol pump in Defence Colony a fortnight ago.

Deepak Sharma (34) was the first to be arrested in the case. He reportedly told police that he had handed Batra Rs 80 lakh for safe keeping. Batra,police said,was Sharma’s lawyer in a murder case that he has against him.

After the information provided by Sharma,police said they raided Batra’s home in Raghubir Nagar,West Delhi. A total of Rs 70 lakh was recovered from her house,police said.

Batra told police that she had given the remaining Rs 10 lakh to a friend,telling him that she feared an Income Tax raid. This amount was then recovered from the friend’s house in Mandawli,East Delhi,police said.

Batra graduated from Lloyd Law College in Greater Noida in 2007. She was the counsel for Sharma in a previous murder case.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Chhaya Sharma said Deepak Sharma treated Batra “like a sister”.

The DCP said several police teams were working to arrest the remaining two accused in the case.

The crime that was to change their lives

The Heist September 28,at 1.19 pm four persons waylaid a cash van in Defence Colony,shot the security guard and fled with the van that was ferrying Rs 5.25 crore for ICICI Bank

The van was abandoned in Malviya Nagar. The men took out the money from the two boxes inside the van and fled

The Haul Deepak Sharma (34) was the first to be arrested from Pushp Vihar

A 9 mm pistol was recovered from him

He led police to Rs. 1.51 crore,kept in his Pushp Vihar home

He also gave inputs about rest of the gang members Vijay Singh Nahar arrestedTek Chand and Krishan arrested from Palwal and Gurgaon,respectively

Rs 85.85 lakh recovered from them Mukesh Saini and Umesh arrested

They had tracked the van’s movement prior to the robbery and provided regular updates to other members

Rs 2.65 lakh,their share of the heist,recovered Hari Kishen (in photo) And his wife Rashmi Sharma arrested

Hari Kishen is the prime accused in case Rs 2 lakh found on them Were arrested from Banda,UP

Drove to Banda via Agra in a Honda City Ranjit Rumal,a shopkeeper from New Usmanpur,arrested

Rs 15 lakh that he had hidden in a gunny sack recoveredPawan,a BSES employee and brother of Vijay Nahar,arrested

Rs 10 lakh,given to him by Nahar,recovered Vijay Verma alias Jojo arrested from a bus stand in Palwal

Fled to Haridwar after the heist

Spent Rs 4 lakh in Haridwar

Gave remaining amount to his relatives,Tek Chand and Krishan