New Delhi, Nov 2 (IANS): A man, driven by the desire for revenge after another man uploaded a picture of his girlfriend on social media, committed a robbery in the office of an event management firm in southeast Delhi. He used a "toy gun" during the incident, an officer said on Thursday.

The entire case came to light after the police traced the prime accused, Vipul (36), a resident of Modinagar in Uttar Pradesh, and arrested him on the basis of the trishool tattoo on his left forearm.

Vipul’s three associates, identified as Jaivardhan (36), Vijay (34) and Sumit (30), were also arrested subsequently, the officer said.

According to police, on October 26, a PCR call was received at Govindpuri police station regarding a robbery at gunpoint.

The caller, Riyaz, informed the police that he and his team, who operate an event management firm, were preparing to depart for Uttarakhand in the early morning for an event when they were robbed.

“Riyaz, along with his team, which included six girls, was about to leave for the destination when four individuals entered their office. These perpetrators took a mobile phone, Rs 14,000 in cash, and two gold rings from one of the girls. They also physically assaulted Riyaz," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (southeast) Rajesh Deo.

The assailants demanded more cash from the victims and forced Riyaz, to call his wife. Two of the accused then went to Riyaz's residence in Faridabad and extorted Rs 70,000 from his wife. The other two accused fled after confirming that the money had been obtained and locked the office from outside.

During the investigation, the complainant revealed that one of the culprits had a prominent trishul tattoo on his left forearm and they had used a car during the commission of the crime.

Efforts were made to locate the car through CCTV footage, and the vehicle was eventually found. “However, the vehicle, a Maruti Swift Dzire, had a fake number plate. The sequence of events and the modus operandi suggested that the robbers had inside information about Riyaz's activities and address,” said the DCP.

Consequently, several of his associates were questioned, leading to the revelation that a girl working with Riyaz and a boy named Vipul owned a Swift Dzire car.

Based on phone numbers and social media activities, Vipul was located, and a photograph confirmed that he had a trishul tattoo on his forearm.

“Efforts were intensified to locate Vipul, and he was eventually found in the Mahipalpur area, where he was staying at a hotel. The police team conducted a raid at ‘The View’ hotel and apprehended him,” said the DCP.

Subsequently, other associates of Vipul were also arrested. During interrogation, Vipul disclosed that he and his associates were motivated by resentment towards Riyaz for uploading a picture of a girl from their team on a social media platform.

“This girl happened to be in a relationship with Vipul. In order to take revenge they committed the offence and admitted to having spent the stolen money on purchasing clothing for themselves,” said the DCP.