NEW DELHI, June 10 — Two men were arrested on Sunday evening for allegedly snatching the handbag of a 63-year-old woman while she was travelling in a moving auto-rickshaw near the rear side of the Red Fort in north Delhi, police said.
The accused, identified as Arjit Arora and Ravi Malik, were riding a grey scooter when they targeted the woman, a freelance beautician from Civil Lines, around 10:30 am as she was returning home from Daryaganj.
“The pillion rider forcibly snatched her handbag containing ₹20,000 in cash, a silver chain, and important documents,” said a senior police officer. “The force of the snatch caused the victim to fall out of the moving vehicle, resulting in injuries. She was immediately taken to Tirath Ram Hospital.”
A case under the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was registered at the Kotwali police station. Investigators reviewing CCTV footage identified a scooter fleeing the scene and traced its registration to one Md Zeeshan Ahmed.
“Zeeshan was not involved in the crime,” the officer clarified. “He had sold the scooter two months earlier, which helped us track the suspects to the Ansari Road area of Daryaganj.”
The duo was arrested after targeted raids. During questioning, both confessed to the robbery. “They revealed they were school dropouts and drug addicts,” said the officer. Malik told police he had bought the scooter from Zeeshan for ₹37,000 in monthly installments but turned to crime due to mounting financial pressure.
Police recovered the woman’s handbag, ₹6,000 in cash, and the scooter used in the crime. The remaining stolen money had allegedly been spent on drugs and leisure activities.
Arora has a previous record and was earlier booked in a theft case at Welcome Police Station. Further investigation is ongoing to establish any additional links or prior criminal activity.
