5-star hotel chef arrested for snatching incidents in South Delhi

A chef of a five-star hotel was arrested in connection with multiple cases of snatching in South Delhi, police said on Wednesday.

Based on a tip off, Harish (35) was arrested from Neb Sarai area on Tuesday evening where he had gone for more snatchings, they said.

The accused, who holds degrees in BA and hotel management, worked at a five-star hotel near the IGI Airport and had a good salary but he took to snatching to pay off his gambling debts, the police said.

A resident of Sangam Vihar, Harish especially targeted women going for a walk or travelling to offices near Saket Metro Station. Other times, he would lurk in the park adjoining the metro station or at Ambedkar Nagar bus stand on Mehrauli-Badarpur (MB) Road, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Atul Kumar Thakur said.

After snatching valuables from his victims, he would usually shout "Pakdo-Pakdo" or "Chor-Chor" to give an impression that he was chasing the culprit and would run like a trained athlete, he said.

Thakur said that for more than a month, his team scrutinised hundreds of CCTV footage and analysed the timings and specific area of incidents to nab the suspect.

Based on a tip-off, the team laid a trap on MB road in Neb Sarai area. "Finding himself trapped, the accused took out his country-made pistol but the police personnel overpowered him and snatched the firearm from his hand," he said.

After his arrest, Harish disclosed that he had sold three snatched gold chains to a goldsmith in Sangam Vihar area. On the basis of his testimony, police arrested Rajender Aggarwal for buying the stolen property, the DCP added.

"During interrogation, he (Harish) disclosed that around two years ago, he started gambling through an online app 'Satta King'.

"Initially, he succeeded, but later suffered losses and incurred huge debts. He then chose to make money by snatching gold chains and mobile phones, preying on soft targets in the morning and evening hours," Thakur said.

A country-made pistol with live cartridge, four snatched mobile phones, and four gold chains were recovered from his possession, the police officer said.