New Delhi, March 1 (IANS): A south Delhi cloth shop cashier, who allegedly fled away with Rs 1 crore of business receipts, and two others who aided him, have been arrested, police said on Friday.
A senior police official said that the cashier was identified as Rishabh Kumar Sharma, 26, a resident of Greater Kailash-I. "He had given the cash to another accused Sachin Yadav, who had kept it at his uncle’s house with Aakash," the official said. Both have also been taken into custody.
According to police, the shop owner, a resident of Gurugram, filed a complaint that Sharma, who worked at his cloth shop in South Extension, had on Tuesday, as usual, collected the cash, amounting to Rs 1 crore, and went to deposit it at a bank in adjoining Defence Colony area but didn't return.
"The complainant said that he tried to connect and trace him but to no avail, as his mobile phone was switched off," the official said.
During the probe, CCTV footage of the crime spot and surrounding areas was collected and thoroughly analysed to trace the movement of the accused.
"The team also activated their local sources to get any clue about the accused person. During the analysis of the CCTV footage, it was learnt that Sharma used a scooty while absconding," Deputy Commissioner of Police, South, Ankit Chauhan said.
Police team then identified the route taken by him and found that he went to Sarita Vihar and Nehru Place. Further with the help of technical surveillance it was revealed that he was in touch with his friend Sachin Yadav before switching off his mobile phone.
"The police team interrogated Yadav, and initially, he tried to mislead the police, but on consistent questioning, broke down and disclosed that the accused Sharma, along with his wife, had gone to Dehradun, and had taken Rs. 2.5 lakh from the cash for his expenses and rest of the cash was left with him," the DCP said.
Yadav further disclosed that he had kept the cash with his uncle at Pul Prahladpur area.
“Immediately, the team conducted a raid at his uncle’s house and Rs 91,19,500 were recovered from there," the DCP.
In the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday, Sharma used his wife’s mobile phone to contact Yadav through internet calling and told him that he, along with his wife, are coming back from Dehradun and will be going to Gujarat by train, he said.
"Sharma further asked him to meet at Nizamuddin Railway Station along with the cash. Both Sharma and his wife were nabbed there," said the DCP.
"A total of recovered cash amounting to Rs 93, 46,000 was seized. Moreover, two empty bags, used in carrying the cash, were also recovered from the forest area of Aali village on the instance of Yadav," he added.
On interrogation, Sharma disclosed that he used to collect and deposit cash, usually amounting to around Rs 2-3 lakh, in a bank at Defence Colony. “However, on that day, the cash amount was substantial as it had not been deposited for a few days. Therefore, he became greedy upon seeing the large sum and planned to flee with the cash," the DCP said.