Red motorcycle, flash of a pistol, Rs 1.5 cr gone: Daring Delhi heist stuns police

New Delhi: In a movie-style ambush, gun-wielding men pulled off a brazen Rs 1.5-crore heist in north Delhi late Wednesday afternoon, intercepting two cashiers on a scooter and fleeing with the cash-filled bag within moments.

The cashiers work for a real estate company based in west Delhi’s Paschim Vihar. Police said the duo had been instructed by the firm’s owner to deliver the bag containing the money to a business establishment in Kucha Ghasi Ram in Chandni Chowk area.

Around 2.30pm, the two employees left Paschim Vihar. One of them later told police that around 3pm, when they were moving from Ashoka Park metro station towards Inderlok, two men on a red motorcycle, wearing red helmets, suddenly approached them, overtook their scooter and forced them to stop. One of the men then allegedly pulled out a pistol and threatened the cashiers before snatching the bag containing the money.

The assailants allegedly warned the two employees of serious consequences if they attempted to resist or raise the alarm. After grabbing the cash, the men sped away on their motorcycle towards Punjabi Bagh area. The entire incident unfolded within a matter of seconds, leaving the victims with little chance or time to react.

Following the incident, the cashiers informed their employer and the police. Senior officers and local police teams rushed to the spot and recorded their statements. Investigators are examining CCTV footage from the spot as well as nearby roads to trace the escape route of the suspects. Several units, including district police personnel and crime branch teams, have been engaged in the probe. Investigators suspect the heist may have been planned with inside information or advance knowledge of the cash transfer.

The incident is the latest in a series of high-profile robberies reported in north Delhi in the recent past, particularly around commercial hubs like Chandni Chowk, Sarai Rohilla, Gulabi Bagh and Bara Hindu Rao.

In March, two employees carrying Rs 50 lakh from Kirti Nagar to Chandni Chowk in an autorickshaw were robbed near the Azad Market railway underpass by four men on two-wheelers, who fled with the cash.

In July last year, three armed robbers held an 86-year-old retired NSG personnel and his family hostage at their Chandni Chowk home before escaping with gold and diamond jewellery, foreign currency and other valuables. In June that year, armed men stormed the office of a textile businessman in Chandni Chowk’s Katra Neel area, opened fire and fled with Rs 35 lakh. A few months earlier, a businessman was robbed of nearly Rs 80 lakh at gunpoint in Lahori Gate area.

The recurrence of such crimes has once again raised concerns over the transportation of large amounts of cash through the city’s crowded commercial districts.