Chain snatchers turned high-flyers

Perpetrators took the air route while paying a visit to Mumbai

Perpetrators took the air route while paying a visit to Mumbai

The movie Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! was their inspiration. They conned people, travelled in luxury cars, spent days in posh hotels and were masters of their trade.u00a0

Sidhhant Verma (28), Shailendra Singh (28) and Sheetal Chawla (27) were having the time of their lives, until the west district police arrested them recently.

On a tip-off, the special staff of police nabbed the trio near ITO, where they had assembled to commit another crime. They are allegedly involved in more than 200 cases of chain snatching and have served jail sentences in the past, said the police.

According to the police, the accused had bought an Opel Astra and a Pulsar motorcycle last week to con people and use it while going on their looting spree across the Capital. They not only operated in various parts of the city, but actively functioned in Mumbai as well. Sources in the police said the three have confessed to have flown to Mumbai several times to commit crimes.

"The last time they went to Mumbai was a month ago. The accused have a source that helps them in delivering motorcycles from Pune and they would then commit chain snatchings using those bikes.

Big guns

According to the police, Siddhant Verma came from a very rich family. Siddhant's family ran a jewellery store in the Karol Bagh and Sabzi Mandi. Siddhant met with the other gang members when they came to sell off the stolen gold chains and jewellery. "The other two came to Siddhant's jewellery store to sell off the stolen jewellery.u00a0 It was then Siddhant met the other two and decided to join the crime," said a police official. Siddhant and Shailendra stayed at a posh housing society in Ghaziabad. The police have recovered around eight gold chains and two luxury vehicles from their possession.

They have confessed to having committed chain snatching in areas of Nariman Point, Andheri (west) and Juhu. They would put up in hotels for about five days and would easily commit around five snatchings a day," said a police source.

According to the police, the three would fly to Mumbai as they were in the habit of living a lavish style but would board Rajdhani Express while coming back.

"They feared that while returning from Mumbai with the heist they would get caught if they came by plane, so they boarded Rajdhani on their way back to Delhi," added the source.

The police recovered two air-conditioners, some laptops and home theatre systems from their house.u00a0 The three spent their money on Russian call girls and took them to hotels in Karol Bagh and Paharganj, said the police.