Delhi Police bust fake ED raid, robbery of Rs 30 lakh in 48 Hours

New Delhi, July 8 (IANS) In a swift breakthrough, the New Delhi District Police have cracked a high-profile abduction and robbery case within 48 hours, arresting three accused who impersonated government officials and looted Rs 30 lakh from a luxury car showroom in Chanakyapuri.

According to police, the incident occurred on July 2, when Anil Tiwari, Assistant Manager at Exclusive Motors Pvt Ltd - a dealership for Bentley and other high-end vehicles - was abducted by two men, one dressed as a policeman, near the Hungarian Embassy.

They claimed he was under arrest in an Enforcement Directorate (ED) case and forcibly took him to the showroom, where they stole Rs 30 lakh kept in the boot of a Bentley car under the guise of a raid. After dropping Tiwari near Rajokari, the accused disappeared.

Initially believing it to be a genuine raid, the showroom owner later confirmed with authorities that no such ED operation had taken place and filed an FIR at Chanakyapuri police station. A special team led by SHO Balihar Singh and supervised by ACP Arti Sharma launched a technical and forensic investigation.

CCTV analysis helped trace a Wagon-R involved in the crime to Sunil Kumar Taneja (46), a driver residing in Gurugram. Taneja was arrested on July 5, and his interrogation led to the arrests of co-accused Suraj (22) and showroom employee Sumit Yadav (25).

“Sustained interrogation of the accused led to uncovering of the conspiracy. Sumit Yadav, working as a sales executive at the showroom, had provided crucial information to the main accused, Sunil Kumar Taneja. It was revealed that Taneja and Yadav had previously worked together at “Spinny”, an online car sales company, where they hatched a plan to steal money from the showroom”, said DCP Devesh Kumar Mahla, New Delhi District.

“Sunil Kumar Taneja, a driver by profession, knew Suraj through their previous shared employment at a property dealer’s office in Najafgarh, where they had worked together for 2-3 years”, he added.

The police recovered Rs 15 lakh in cash, froze a fixed deposit of Rs 8 lakh made by Taneja, and seized both the Wagon-R used in the crime and a Tata Punch car he bought using the stolen money.

A fake ED document used during the raid was also recovered. Police urged citizens and businesses to remain alert and verify the identities of officials claiming to represent law enforcement agencies.

--IANS

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