New Delhi, Dec 1 (IANS): The long arm of the law finally caught up with a 29-year-old man, who used various dramatic tactics to shock and then rob unsuspecting men.

According to Delhi Police, who nabbed the culprit from Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh, the accuaed targeted only men.

The accused has been identified as Imtiyaz, who hails from Baghpat and used to commute in public transport and left no trace behind, making it difficult for the cops to track him.

According to the police, on November 13, a PCR call was received regarding the robbery of a gold bracelet and a Scooty from the Krishna Nagar area in the national capital.

The complainant, Ankur Jain, reported that he was heading home from Vishwas Nagar to Rajgarh Colony when he was stopped by a person near the West Azad Nagar crossing.

“This person accused Jain of an accident involving his sister, forcing him to accompany him to the alleged accident site in East Azad Nagar. There, the perpetrator robbed Jain of his gold bracelet and Scooty after threatening him with a sharp-edged weapon,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahdara), Rohit Meena.

During investigation, over 200 CCTV cameras were scanned, from Geeta Colony to UP, covering a distance of 30 km.

“The police also gathered information from secret informers, collecting over 100 dossiers of criminals using similar modus operandi in the Trans Yamuna area. Eventually, the police identified the accused, a habitual criminal from Baghpat district.

"Local informers were then put into work to trace the accused's whereabouts, leading to the successful apprehension of Imtiyaz,” the DCP said.

During interrogation, Imtiyaz confessed that he earned his livelihood by committing robbery and cheating unsuspecting people, often using the threat of physical harm.

“He revealed his involvement in similar incidents in Krishna Nagar, Geeta Colony and Shahdara in Delhi, and Shamli and Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh,” the DCP said.

Imtiyaz disclosed that on July 20, he accusaed a person in Krishna Nagar of snatching his sister's ATM card before robbing him of his ATM cards, mobile phone, and bike key.

On October 16 near the Geeta Colony petrol pump, he accused a person of sexual assault and robbed him of his gold ornaments.

"To evade arrest, he used various modes of transportation, including a victim's bike, auto-rickshaw, e-rickshaw and bus, making it difficult to trace him through CCTV cameras," the DCP said.