Flashy gangster charged youth for selfies with him

New Delhi: 22-year-old Vikram Poonia was fond of costly cigarettes and imported beer for which he needed a lot of money. He formed a gang and gained notoriety for his crimes, but soon was arrested along with his accomplices.

In all, three persons were arrested two juveniles were apprehended on Wednesday. The team, which made the arrest, was led by SI Naveen of the Special Staff of Delhi Police.

Police said that due to his criminal activity, Poonia was famous among youths who started taking selfie with him. Poona even used to charge Rs 500 for a selfie, subsequently increasing the price for a selfie with him to Rs 2,500.

"People who took selfies with him thought no harm will come to them if they will took photographs with him," said a police officer.

The other accused were identified Sagar Nagar (21) and Akash (22), and two juveniles.

DCP (Dwarka) Shibesh Singh said that Poonia had met Nagar a few months ago, and the two decided to rob cars for a quick buck. The duo roped in two juveniles from Najafgarh area, offering them good money, and soon arranged a pistol as well.

"Poonia and Nagar also roped in accused Akash and formed a gang. But their difficulty was that they had only one stolen motorcycle. So, they decided to rob a car as soon as possible to use it in committing more crimes," said the DCP.

Police said that on April 8, the accused booked an Ola cab and planned to rob it, irrespective of the type of vehicle.

When the complainant reached with his Dzire car, accused Akash followed them on the motorcycle, while the other four boarded it as bonafide passengers.

After covering some distance, one juvenile pretended to vomit and asked the driver to stop the car. As the cab driver tried to help him on humanitarian ground, the others overpowered him and threatened to shoot if he did not hand over the car keys. The complainant handed over the car out to fear, after which the accused fled.