SUV stolen at gunpoint from outside The Grand in Vasant Kunj

Two unidentified men allegedly held the driver of Dr Blossom Kocchar in broad daylight at gunpoint and robbed him of a silver metallic Toyota Fortuner car from outside The Grand hotel in Vasant Kunj in South Delhi on Friday evening.

According to the police, the incident took place at around 6 pm on Friday when Dr Blossom Kochhar along with her daughter Samantha Kocchar had gone inside The Grand hotel for a meeting in the morning. Not allowed to park their car inside the hotel premise, Kochhar’s driver, Kasinder Yadav, parked the car near the police check post between the stretch from Ambience Mall and The Grand hotel.

The hotel guard allegedly refused Yadav the parking as the hotel only allows valet parking. “At around six in the evening he was wiping the windscreen of the car when two men walked up to him. One took him at the gunpoint while the other started frisking him for the keys. They snatched the keys from his belt loop and sped off with the vehicle,” said a police official on the condition of anonymity.

According to the official, the crime was reported to the police by the locals who rushed to driver’s aid right after the accused left.

“The area was bustling with activity but people looked on. No one came forward to help Yadav as the accused held a gun,” added the offcial.

“The whole incident is mired with a lot of inconsistencies and reeks of police apathy. The check post, which is usually manned by two policemen, did not have any of them present there at the time of the incident. A further explanation given by them that they had gone to drop off a letter at a senior officer’s house raises serious questions,” Samantha Kochar alleged.

“How could they leave the check post unmanned at such a crucial time and how could the time of theft and the time of their absence coincide are some of the unanswered concerns?” she further alleged.