'Arm-twister' snatchers held in Delhi

NEW DELHI: This group of robbers would twist their victim’s arm and then snatch their belongings while they crippled in pain. They would use a red scooter to flee and wave back at the victim before driving away. The men, Sameer Singh and Pankaj had become dreaded criminals in west and outer Delhi in the past one week.
One of their victims Rajni Sharma (49) whom they had dragged out of a moving e-rickshaw and twisted her arm to free her handbag, suffered a severe fracture and will be undergoing a surgery on Tuesday.
The duo was caught by a team of cops led by SHO Rajouri Garden, Anil Sharma hours after they had attacked Rajni. DCP (west) Deepak Purohit said that they were being tracked by a team that was formed to crack down on street crimes in west Delhi.
The men were fleeing after robbing a handbag from an elderly woman when the cops rammed their scooter with a bike to dis-balance them due to which they fell on the road.
Speaking to TOI, Rajni recalled the trauma she went through after being attacked by the robbers. “I had parked my car and was on my way to the shop in an e-rickshaw when I was attacked. They grabbed my bag and dragged me off the rickshaw and kept driving despite the bag clinging onto my shoulder,” said Rajni.
When she did not relent, the robber riding pillion twisted her arm to free her bag and fled. “My hand was virtually hanging off my shoulder and there was an excruciating pain followed by that,” she said. She was admitted to a hospital by the neighbours where doctors suggested a surgery.
“Within hours of this, the police contacted me saying that they had managed to get hold of the men. It was a huge relief for me. My phones have been recovered,” she said.
During the probe it was found that the two men were residents of a colony near Paschim Vihar and were addicted to drugs. They would commit a series of robberies within a few days and then go underground for a few days when the police would start looking for them.
Cops suspect that they could be involved in a dozen cases in outer and west Delhi which are being probed. Cases of robbery would be invoked against them in the cases.