The Delhi Police Saturday arrested an autorickshaw driver who allegedly operated a robbery scheme by staging a breakdown of his vehicle while on a trip and stealing valuables from the passengers with the help of other auto drivers. According to the police, the accused, Wasim, 49, would pick up passengers from the Sarai Kale Khan bus stand and then pretend that his auto rickshaw had broken down halfway through the journey. A couple of other auto drivers would follow closely behind, said Sanjeev Yadav, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Crime. The auto drivers would offer Wasim’s passengers help, and squeeze them between the fake passengers, said the police. In the meantime, Wasim would allegedly steal things from their bags as they shifted from one auto to another. They would realise they had been robbed only after reaching their destinations, the police said. Wasim's activities came to light after he allegedly robbed a couple of jewellery worth Rs 20 lakh. “A couple boarded the auto of the accused from the Sarai Kale Khan Bus Terminal on the morning of June 27. He stopped his auto midway on the pretext of a breakdown and called his associates, who were already following him in another auto, with two of them sitting behind posing as passengers,” DCP Yadav said. As the couple moved to the other auto, Wasim allegedly opened their bag and stole jewellery worth Rs 20 lakh. The couple, realising they had been cheated, approached the police. On July 12, a team led by Arvind Kumar, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Anti Robbery and Snatching Cell, Crime Branch, received a tip-off that Wasim, who has eight cases against him, was in Sarai Kale Khan, looking to execute a similar robbery. The team acted swiftly and arrested him. Although the police recovered Rs 11,000 from him, interrogation is ongoing to find the couple's jewellery. Wasim's associates are in hiding, and efforts are being made to locate them, the police said. “Wasim is an active member of a gang that targets passengers from the different bus terminals of Delhi during the early hours. He is a declared bad character at the Gandhi Nagar police station,” DCP Yadav said.
