Delhi: 3 women held for robbing war veteran in Hauz Khas

Three women were arrested on Friday from south Delhi for allegedly robbing a 1971 war veteran of Rs 40,000 inside an ATM kiosk last week, police said.

The accused are natives of Rajgarh district in Madhya Pradesh, they said.

On October 3, a 76-year-old resident of Hauz Khas had lodged a complaint stating that he found out that Rs 40,000 had been stolen from his pocket while he was withdrawing money from the ATM, the police said.

According to police, two women had barged into the ATM while he was withdrawing the money.

In his statement, the man had said, "I asked the two women to wait and stay out, but they didn't listen and entered the ATM. There was no guard available to help me and stop them. I was helpless thinking that I cannot do anything more (them being women) to keep them outside and continued with my ATM transaction."

During the investigation, CCTV footage was analysed in which two women were noticed standing near the complainant, the police said.

Meanwhile, another incident of jewellery theft was reported in Kotla Mubarakpur. One of the three accused was spotted during the analysis of CCTV footage of the incident, a senior police officer said.

"On Friday, police received a tip-off that the women would come to a park in Sector-5, Pushp Vihar, for the division of the stolen money, following which they were arrested," Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Atul Kumar Thakur said.

It was found during interrogation that the accused women come to Delhi during festive and wedding seasons. They visit banks, ATMs, busy markets and crowded places to rob people, he said.

They stole money and jewellery. Women and senior citizens were easy targets for them, he added.

Thakur said the accused have confessed to their involvement in Hauz Khas and Kotla Mubarakpur cases. The stolen amount of Rs 40,000 has been recovered from them.