Month after Arunachal Pradesh woman died resisting snatching bid, accused held

NEW DELHI: Nearly a month after Kesang Dorjee, a 66-year-old woman from Arunachal Pradesh, died when she fell from an e-rickshaw while resisting a snatching attempt in north Delhi's Civil Lines, police on Thursday arrested the alleged snatcher, who was in hiding after fleeing with her bag containing cash.

Police said Umesh Khari (36), a native of Haryana, is a history-sheeter and has been involved in 23 criminal cases dating back to 2003.According to cops, the accused would often target women, especially those unfamiliar with the city, and change his identity and hideouts several times to remain elusive.
Dorjee had come to the city for her son's liver transplant treatment and was travelling in an e-rickshaw with her family members when she was dragged out, allegedly by Khari, on December 17.
"The accused pulled her purse, which contained about Rs 1 lakh, and escaped on his bike. Dorjee fell on the road while resisting the snatching, sustained head injuries and succumbed a few days later. A case under relevant sections of IPC was registered and investigation was taken up," said Manoj Kumar Meena, DCP (North), said.
Meena said during investigation, technical surveillance was mounted and after analysing footage from more than 100 CCTV cameras, they zoomed in on the motorcycle, which did not have a licence plate.
"Based on the motorcycle model, the investigation was taken further and our team collected data from the RTO of owners residing in Delhi-NCR and analysed it. The breakthrough came when, while verifying the data, the owner of one of the bikes was found to be untraceable. The criminal record of the person was searched and Khari's involvement in several cases was revealed," he said.
Multiple raids were then conducted at his hideouts in Delhi, UP and Haryana, but the accused was nowhere to be found. Khari was finally found languishing in a jail in UP, making a desperate attempt to evade arrest by withdrawing his surety in a 2004 snatching case, police said.
During interrogation, the accused revealed that his modus operandi involved using new bikes without number plates, purchased in the names of friends and relatives. A seasoned snatcher, Khari told police that his targets were mainly women of foreign origin, particularly those unfamiliar with Delhi's streets.
"He typically targeted women walking on roads or travelling in rickshaws, specifically aiming for handbags. After the snatching, he would extract cash from the bag and discard it at nearby secluded locations," the DCP said.
Khari has been booked under relevant sections of IPC and remanded in judicial custody.