New Delhi:
Two men posing as senior police officers tried to steal a Mercedes Benz car right in front of Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley's Ashoka Road bungalow. Delhi police is tight-lipped over the matter, but an FIR in this respect was registered at the Parliament Street police station two days ago.
"The incident took place on Friday evening. Two persons wearing police uniform tried to snatch a Mercedes from its driver. They managed to get hold of the car but could not run away as they got stuck in traffic. The Mercedes driver, meanwhile, raised an alarm and managed to catch one of them. We are surprised as the accused were committing car-jacking in a high security zone. They were in police uniform but they did not have any I-cards," said a police source.
Suresh Kumar, the Mercedes driver, said he was going to Oberoi hotel to receive some foreign guests when he was intercepted by two persons who were wearing police uniform in Ashoka Road area. "When I was in front of bungalow number 9 (belonging to Arun Jaitley) they (the accused) approached me and asked me to stop the car. Both were wearing police uniform and scolded me for driving fast in that lane.
"The accused then asked me to show the car's papers and driving licence. But as soon as I got off the car to show them documents they snatched the car's keys from my hand, pushed me onto the road and tried to get away along with the car," said the complainant.
Suresh added that the accused got stuck as there was heavy traffic in the lane at the time. Suresh chased them raising an alarm. He caught the person in the driver's seat and dragged him out of the car shouting for help while the other accused managed to flee from the spot. Suresh thrashed the accused and made a call to the PCR to inform the cops about the incident.
Ashoka road is the address of some of the most high-profile people in the country and so senior officials from Parliament Street police station rushed to the spot.
"The accused, who was caught by the Mercedes driver, has been identified as Gurdeep. He is a vagabond and has some criminal antecedents. We have lodged a case of robbery against him and his associate who is on the run. Police is interrogating Gurdeep to know about his other aides," said a senior police officer on the condition of anonymity.
Suresh is employed with the Doaba Tourist company, which has its office near National Museum in New Delhi district. "I have been working with the company for 12 years. This is the first time when such an incident has occurred," he said. A police officer said the Mercedes has been impounded and will be released after a court order.