Auto driver arrested for stealing jewellery worth Rs 20 lakh from passengers: Police

NEW DELHI: A 49-year-old man was arrested for allegedly stealing gold jewellery worth Rs 20 lakh from a couple who boarded his auto-rickshaw from the Sarai Kale Khan Bus Terminal, police said on Sunday.

The accused, identified as Wasim, was a listed bad character of the Gandhi Nagar Police Station. On June 27, a couple boarded Wasim’s auto from the Sarai Kale Khan terminal. After driving a short distance, he pretended the vehicle had broken down and arranged for the couple to shift into another auto, already occupied by his associates posing as fellow passengers, the police said.

“As the couple was seated between them, the accomplices discreetly stole jewellery from their luggage during the ride,” the officer stated.

Acting on a tip-off, a team arrested Wasim from Delhi on July 10. Police recovered the auto used in the crime and Rs 11,000 in cash from his possession. Efforts are on to arrest other gang members, he added.

Wasim and his gang allegedly targeted passengers during the early morning hours at major bus terminals like Sarai Kale Khan. His modus operandi was to drive the auto for a short distance, then fake a mechanical failure, and shift unsuspecting passengers to another vehicle where thefts were executed.

“Wasim has a long criminal history with at least eight previous cases registered against him in Kashmiri Gate, Geeta Colony, Kotwali, Hazrat Nizamuddin, Timarpur, Seelampur, and New Ashok Nagar,” he added.

The police are also probing the involvement of Wasim’s associates in similar cases across the city and examining CCTV footage.