A Paytm transaction led the police to a gang of criminals, who had robbed two men in two separate incidents. Four of the gang members have been arrested, the police said.
The accused were identified as Naresh, 19, Vivek, 19, Rakesh, 19, and Sachin, 20. All four are residents of Bulandshahr and had been living in Noida in a rented accommodation. The mastermind of the group, identified as Rizwan, 24, has been absconding.
The first incident took place on the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway on May 29. The victim was identified as Amrit Pal Singh, a cash collection agent. "Singh was robbed off Rs 14 lakh on the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway. Sachin had been following Singh as he collected cash from shops," Abhinandan, Circle officer, city-1, said.
In the second incident, on September 10, a canteen supervisor working with the HCL was attacked with a sharp-edged weapon while he was on his way to home. After he fell unconscious, the five men took his phone and wallet, and withdrew Rs 1.15 lakh with the help of his ATM card and Paytm account.
The five men then went to Khurja, where Rizwan changed the pin of the debit card inside an ATM. Police said the phone helped him to change the pin as he received the one time password (OTP) on it. The police had put the phone on surveillance. Later, Sachin did a Paytm transaction using the phone, and his own number got traced.
Police then received information that three people, with some weapons, will be coming to Noida. Accordingly, they laid a trap and nabbed the accused from the Pusta Morh in Sector 127.
"A bike with three people riding it was intercepted. On checking, two country-made pistols and Rs 22,000 in cash were recovered from the trio. They could not give a satisfactory explanation for possessing these things. Later, they confessed to the crime of robbing a collection agent and an HCL employee. Rs 2 lakh more was recovered from their rented accommodation," Abhinandan said.
During interrogation, they told the police about the whereabouts of their accomplice Sachin, who owns the bike. He was arrested from Surajpur. The accused also revealed that Rizwan was the mastermind and the technology expert. He only made transactions and gave them a miniscule amount.
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