NEW DELHI: In a swift response, the Delhi Metro Police arrested Ankit Goel, a 33-year-old resident of Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, within 24 hours for defacing metro stations and coaches with objectionable graffiti.
DCP Delhi Metro G Ramgopal Naik said that, on Monday a complaint was filed by a supervisor at Patel Nagar metro station regarding graffiti and defacement of metro property. Similar reports emerged from other stations and coaches. Acting on the complaint, the Delhi Metro Police registered a case under invoking sections of the Delhi Prevention of Defacement of Public Property Act and the Delhi Metro Railway Act.
Later, a special investigation team was formed under the supervision of ACP Dwijendranath Sharma and DCP Dr G. Ram Gopal Naik. The team included Inspector Sameer Srivastava, Inspector Pawan Tomar, SI Arun, SI Raghubir, and several ASIs and HCs.
The team meticulously reviewed CCTV footage from the affected metro stations, identifying Ankit Goel as the perpetrator.
Goel was seen boarding a metro at Barakhamba station and defacing multiple locations. He recorded videos of his actions and posted them on social media.
The investigation extended to analysing Goel’s social media accounts, which provided further leads. These posts revealed that Goel travelled with friends in a vehicle, the details of which helped the police track him down. Goel was apprehended in Bareilly and subsequently brought before the court, Naik mentioned.
During interrogation, Ankit Goel revealed that he had been in Delhi since May 13, 2024, for personal reasons, staying in various hotels across Delhi and NCR. He admitted to suffering from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and confessed to defacing metro properties on May 19, 2024.
Goel, an engineering graduate, is married and works as a credit manager at a nationalised bank in Bareilly. He has previously worked as an electronics and software expert in several companies across India, DCP confirmed.
Additionally, Goel was produced before a magisterial court in the afternoon, where he was granted bail on the grounds that the offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) invoked against him were bailable. A detailed court order is awaited.