"We Are From ED": How Help Planned Fake Raid On Her Employer In Delhi

It was 10:30 in the morning. Usha Sabharwal was not expecting any guests at her south Delhi bungalow in New Friends Colony on February 11.

The doorbell buzzed and the men at the other end introduced themsels as officers from the Enforcement Directorate, the top financial crimes agency.

"We are from the ED. The house will be searched and everything will be videographed," one of the men announced.

One among them started the videography, while another began taking out valuables from the bedroom cupboard of Sabharwals. The third person, sporting a fake uniform, immediately took possession of the phones of RC Sabharwal and his wife.

The men, speaking fluent English, started collecting cash. They also took jewellery and expensive watches from the house.

Meanwhile, Usha Sabharwal had another phone, which the people posing as ED officials were not aware of. Usha Sabharwal excused herself and went to the toilet and called her grandson, Gaurav, who is one of the lawyers for the central agency.

Gaurav immediately told her that this must be a fake ED team.

Usha Sabharwal went back and told the men that her grandson, who is a lawyer for the ED, is coming to speak to them.

Sensing danger, the three men decamped with Rs 3-4 lakh in cash, seven expensive watches and some jewellery.

The househelp, Rekha Devi, and her sister-in-law, Puja Rajput, turned out to be the masternind behind this.

Rekha Devi was working for the Sabharwals for the last two years. She planned it with her sister-in-law Pooja Rajput, who lives in Ghaziabad, police said.

Pooja Rajput's husband, Manish, was a constable in the paramilitary force. He sourced the uniform, the fake badge, and an ID card, police said. He also possessed a pistol whose licence had expired in 2019. Manish included his friend, Updesh Thapa, and his son in the raid.

Rekha Devi had reportedly tipped him off about the time of the raid and where the expensive items were kept. She was at the Sabharwal house when the fake ED raid was conducted.

Posing as fake officers, the men had come to the Sabharwal family's mansion in a blue Bolero car.

Sarita Vihar's Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Aishwarya Sharma said that after scanning over 300 CCTV cameras for digital footprints, the car was found parked in Sector 4 of Vaishali.

When the police team reached Ghaziabad, they found Pooja Rajput there. When the two were interrogated, they confessed the truth.

However, Manish, Updesh, and his son are currently on the run.