Businessman shot at near Pragati Maidan: Two more men arrested, were planning another heist

Days after a man was arrested for shooting at a perfume shop owner during a robbery bid near Pragati Maidan, the Delhi Police Crime Branch Wednesday arrested two more accused in the case while they were allegedly plotting a similar heist.

Govind (21), who had been working at the perfume shop in Chandni Chowk for nearly a year, was arrested on May 5. A juvenile was also apprehended along with him. On Wednesday, their associates — Sahil Khan (22) and Shivam Bhaduria (24) — were arrested following a tip-off about their alleged plan to attempt another robbery in South Delhi.

“On May 7, information was received that accused Sahil Malik and Shivam Bhaduria were planning to commit another robbery somewhere in South Delhi. Acting on this information, a trap was laid near Sarojini Nagar and two suspects were intercepted on a bike,” DCP (Crime) Aditya Gautam said.

Last Friday, R K Singh (63), a Noida resident who owns a perfume shop in Chandni Chowk, was heading home from work around 9 pm in his car when, near Pragati Maidan, he realised that he was being chased.

According to police, a biker allegedly tried to intercept him, but Singh reversed his car in a bid to escape. Another biker then fired a round at him, and a bullet hit Singh in the stomach. However, he managed to evade the attackers, who allegedly wanted to rob the cash he was carrying. He then called a relative and handed him cash worth Rs. 5 lakh before heading to Safdarjung Hospital.

Officers said a call was received from Safdarjung Hospital around 10 pm on Friday, informing them about a man being admitted with a bullet injury.

Devesh Mahla, DCP (New Delhi), said, “In less than 24 hours, the case was solved and the accused, identified as Prashant alias Govind, was arrested, and a juvenile was apprehended. Singh runs a perfume shop in Tilak Bazar of Chandni Chowk.”

“During questioning, Malik said the four accused were friends, but the robbery was Govind’s idea. Govind knew about his employer’s import-export deals and was aware that R K Singh was carrying cash,” said an officer.

“Govind shared details of his plan with the juvenile. The juvenile then engaged his associates — Sahil Malik and Shivam. The victim was tracked by the four, with two on each bike. As per their plan, they intercepted him in the Pragati Maidan tunnel,” DCP Gautam said.