The toy pistol and motorcycle used in the crime have been recovered, police said (Representational)
Three men allegedly robbed the owner of a medical store and his brother-in-law of Rs 1.5 lakh and two gold chains by threatening them with a toy pistol in south Delhi's Neb Sarai area, police said on Thursday.
The gold chains and Rs 40,200 of the robbed cash have been recovered from the accused -- Vasu (22), Md. Sameer (21) and Ritik Arora (21) -- who were arrested on Wednesday, according to police.
The accused watched several episodes of TV crime shows to learn tactics to give police the slip, they said.
Arora, the main accused, had left his family and was living with his girlfriend at a rented flat. He had formed a group and was also indulging in consumption of liquor and drugs, a senior police officer said.
According to police, the incident took place on the intervening night of July 7-8, when Nandan Kumar, who runs a medical store on IGNOU Road, was going home with his brother-in-law on a motorcycle. When they reached Sainik Farm area, three bike-borne men overtook them and stopped them by pointing at them what looked like a pistol.
The two were robbed of Rs 1.50 lakh cash, two gold chains and a mobile phone, police said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Atul Kumar Thakur said technical surveillance was used and the complainant and the witness were examined. The team probing the case also interrogated all the six workers of medical store, he said.
"Our team identified the motorcycle used by the accused in the crime and found that they had left it at a spot and changed their clothes. On the basis of human intelligence and technical surveillance, traps were laid and the accused were apprehended from Dakshinpuri and Freedom Fighter colony areas," the DCP said.
During interrogation, the accused disclosed that they were aware that the complainant, carrying cash, used to go home in late night hours on a deserted road.
They followed him for two nights before the incident. They were in need of money and committed the crime after drawing inspiration from crime shows, the officer said.
The toy pistol and motorcycle used in the crime have been recovered, he said.