A 21-year-old national-level weightlifter has been arrested for allegedly smashing a biker’s head with a brick and robbing him of Rs.4 lakh.
Identified as Sumeet Panchal, the accused has won a gold medal at the State level in 2012 and has represented Haryana at the national level competitions held in Bangalore and Udaipur in 2013.
The alleged crime involving Panchal took place a month ago in Outer Delhi’s Rohini. Two youths transporting money for someone were allegedly intercepted by Panchal and his associate while the victims were riding a scooty near Mount Abu School in Rohini’s Sector 5.
According to Vijay Singh, DCP (North-West), Panchal and his associate first struck the victims with bricks on their heads before snatching away their scooty and Rs.4 lakh cash.
One of the victims was hospitalised in critical condition and required 16 stitches. Panchal and his associate, meanwhile, shared the cash among themselves and fled.
Police said CCTV footage obtained near the crime spot showed Panchal and his associates carrying bricks, even though they had remained unidentified at that time.
The arrest was made on Monday based on a tip-off that a person involved in a robbery case would be arriving in Pitampura. The accused was subsequently nabbed.
According to the police, Panchal broke down during sustained interrogation and confessed to his role in the incident.
He allegedly told the police that he had taken to robbery along with his old friends because of a financial crunch. The sportsman comes from a financially poor family of Gohana in Haryana.
Police said that his father had ensured he obtained good education even in the face of financial woes. Since he was already performing well in weightlifting competitions, he was able to obtain admission to Maharishi Dayanand University in Rohtak.
However, he was unable to bag any job after leaving college because of which he took to driving taxis for a while. Looking for a better career, he moved to Delhi and began living in Sultanpuri with a woman he had befriended.
He allegedly told the police that he had taken to robbery because of a financial crunch
