A 23-year-old member of ‘thak-thak’ gang was arrested on October 21 for allegedly stealing a woman’s handbag in south Delhi’s Saket. The police are on the lookout for his associate, who is on the run.
Gurugram resident Arti Wadhawan told the police that she was on her way home around 8.30 p.m. when her car tyre got punctured near Dhaula Peer.
“As soon as she stepped out of her vehicle, two persons on a bike offered to help her. While one of them pretended to help, the other stole her bag from the car. The duo fled immediately after snatching the handbag,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (south) Ishwar Singh.
₹55,000 in cash
The handbag contained ₹55,000, a mobile phone, passbooks and identity proofs. Ms. Wadhawan informed the police about the theft, following which a message with details of the duo was flashed across police pickets in Saket.
Around 9 p.m., constables Jagat and Mahesh spotted the duo with the handbag. They nabbed one of the accused while the other managed to escape and recovered the handbag.
“Suraj, a resident of Madangir, is an accused in 12 cases of theft,” said Mr. Singh. During interrogation, Suraj allegedly told the police that he is the leader of ‘thak-thak’ gang.
Explaining the modus operandi, he told the police that the gang used a t-shaped iron tool to puncture the tyres of a target’s vehicle, knocked on the window on the pretext of helping the victim and then stole valuables from their cars.
Mr. Singh added, “The other accused has been identified as Ramesh. Efforts are on to nab him. The motorcycle and t-shaped iron tool used to puncture the victim’s car tyre has also been recovered.”
