A househelp has been arrested for allegedly staging a fake Enforcement Directorate (ED) raid at her employer's residence in Delhi's New Friends Colony.
The police said that three individuals in police uniforms forcibly entered the residence of 86-year-old RC Sabharwal, a retired architect, claiming to be ED officials, on February 11. The accused threatened the family and seized mobile phones during search operations.
After being confronted by the Sabharwal's grandson, they fled in a car with about Rs 3-4 lakh in cash, seven luxury watches and jewellery.
How Cops Cracked The Case
The police filed a case this Tuesday and launched a massive investigation. They analysed over 350 CCTV cameras, including private cameras from the residential area where the robbery took place, surveillance cameras, and high-speed traffic cameras, and zeroed in on a Maruti Suzuki Baleno.
The investigators then mapped their movements from the crime scene and found out that the car travelled via Sarai Kale Khan and entered Uttar Pradesh from the Ghazipur border.
The car was then seen parked near a residence in Ghaziabad's Vaishali.
Based on the car's registration number, the police used technical surveillance (mobile tower dump data and IMEI tracking) to cross-reference which mobile numbers were active at both the New Friends Colony crime scene and the Vaishali parking location at the relevant times.
The data then pointed to the residence of a woman named Pooja Rajput, who turned out to be the sister-in-law of the maid, Rekha Devi.
Local intelligence then confirmed that Rekha Devi was a frequent visitor to that exact Ghaziabad address, confirming the "insider" conspiracy, the police said.
When the team raided Pooja's house on Wednesday, they recovered the uniforms and tools used in the raid. They also found the stolen luxury watches and jewellery.
While Rekha, 40, and 45-year-old Pooja have been arrested, the police are on the hunt for the other accused: Prakash, a serving ITBP constable; Updesh Singh Thapa, a retired army personnel, and Manish.
