NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police on Saturday filed more than 1400-page chargesheet in the infamous Pragati Maidan Tunnel dacoity case against 11 accused people here at the Patiala House Court, a senior police officer said. The next date of hearing has been fixed for October 3.
The brazen robbery which shook the city took place on June 24 when four motorcycle-borne men on two bikes waylaid a car and looted a delivery agent and his associate of Rs 25 lakh at gunpoint inside the Pragati Maidan tunnel. Notably, three months later the G20 Summit was held at the Bharat Mandapam at Pragati Maidan.
The whole act was caught on a CCTV camera in which the robbers could be seen getting off their motorcycles and pointing guns at the two men in the cab who were carrying a bag with the cash. One of the robbers snatched the bag and all of them fled the spot.
"During the course of the investigation, CCTV Footages and Call detail records were analyzed and on the basis of local intelligence and technical analysis a total of 11 accused persons were arrested and one juvenile was apprehended in the case," the officer said.
The accused were identified as Usman Ali alias Kallu (25), Anuj Mishra alias Sanki (26), Kuldeep alias Lungad (26), Irfan (21), Pradeep alias Sonu (34), Amit alias Bala (20), Murli alias Raju (32), Vishal (25), Anil alias Choti (38), Supreet alias Hunny (31) and Pawan Kumar Jha (34).
According to the official, the 1417-page chargesheet was filed under sections 395 (Punishment for dacoity), 397 (Robbery, or dacoity, with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt), 212 (Harbouring offender), 412 (Dishonestly receiving property stolen in the commission of a dacoity), 468 (Forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (Using as genuine a forged document or electronic record), 482 (Punishment for using a false property mark), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC and sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act.
During the interrogation, it was revealed that the accused Anuj Mishra was riding an Apache and Amit was riding pillion while Irfan and another person were on a Splendor. The main conspirators of the crime were Usman Ali and Pradeep.
"Usman was working as a courier boy with Amazon for several years in the Chandni Chowk area and had knowledge of the area regarding the movement of cash at Kucha Ghasiram, Kucha Mahajani etc," the officer said.
He said that Usman had taken loans from several banks and lost money in IPL satta and was desperate to get money to pay his debts and hatched the conspiracy to rob businessmen who carry cash. "He provided the crucial inputs and identified the target," he said.
"The accused Pradeep alias Sonu is a dreaded criminal and was in judicial custody for 8 years in a ransom case and was released 2 years back from jail. Pradeep was previously involved in 37 cases and was one of the main conspirators in the present case," the officer said.
Recce for 3 days
The senior official said the accused did recce for three straight days and were rather prepared to rob any person but were not able to find the right target. "They knew that the cash transaction took place between 2 pm to 5 pm in the area. They usually reach there around 2 pm and start identifying their target," the Special CP said.
On June 24, they identified their target who was carrying a bag of cash and ultimately committed the brazen crime.
Deliberately chose tunnel for robbery
During the interrogation of the accused people, it was revealed that they deliberately chose to commit the robbery inside the tunnel thinking that no other car would pass by.
"While they were chasing the car, they instantly decided to rob them inside the tunnel only," the senior officer said.