Robber held in less than an hour

Had snatched a man’s motorbike; accomplice on the run

A man was arrested and and the motorcycle he robbed was impounded on a highway near the Air Force camp in Badalpur here on Thursday.

Badalpur police station got a call at 12.01 p.m. from UP 100 service about a robbery on the GT Road, the police said.

“We were informed that a man has been robbed off his motorcycle and injured by two men,” Badalpur Station House Officer Vijay Kumar said.

Disguise

The accused, identified as Chhotu alias Sonu (24), had disguised as a wounded man and stood along the road. When the victim, a resident of Brij Vihar, passed by, Chhotu signalled for a hitch-hike.

Accused asked for lift

“The victim agreed to give him a lift. However, Chhotu started hitting him and soon his accomplice appeared at the spot from bushes nearby. The two then overpowered the victim,” Mr. Kumar said.

Chhotu fled the spot on the robbed motorcycle while his accomplice, who is yet to be held, left on a scooty, he said.

The victim called up the UP police’s emergency 100 service number, and the message was relayed to Badalpur police station.

“We immediately informed our teams on patrol duty and those posted on the GT Road. It took the police less than an hour to arrest him since the time the matter was reported,” Mr. Kumar said.

Meanwhile Chhotu, who had reached some distance on the GT Road on the motorcycle, spotted a police picket ahead of him. “He returned on the same route from where he had started. By the time a police response vehicle (PRV) of UP 100 team had reached the spot. In a fix, he got down on a kachcha rasta where the motorcycle got stuck. The PRV followed him and nabbed him,” Mr. Kumar said.

Chhotu has been booked under IPC Section 392 for robbery and related offences. He was produced in a court and the motorcycle would be returned to the victim post legal proceedings, the police said.