Selfie clicked by victim helps crack theft case

New Delhi: A selfie taken by the complainant helped the CISF bust a gang of pickpockets on Tuesday. The pickpockets had snatched a jewellery bag of a California-based NRI, who was travelling by Metro on Friday. The bag had jewellery worth Rs 22 lakh. Just before the theft the victim had taken a selfie and the face of the accused appeared fairly clearly in it helping the CISF later nab the accused.

The complaint Nilam Kumari, in her complaint said that she was travelling with her husband from New Delhi Metro station to Chattarpur Metro station when the accused stole her jewellery bag. They realised that their bag had been stolen when they reached Chhatarpur station and approached the CISF. The Crime & Intelligence Wing (CIW) of the CISF examined CCTV footage, but the clinching evidence came from the woman’s selfie. They then started rounding up pickpockets around Metro stations and on Tuesday evening, a group identified as “Kamla” was nabbed from Chawri Bazar station.

Funnily, the group of pickpockets never got around to selling the jewellery as they thought it was fake. They recovered the lost jewellery from them, which included a diamond necklace, a gold bangle, a gold necklace with precious stones, diamond earrings, a diamond ring and another gold ring. The CISF has handed over the recovered jewellery to the police for further action. One of the six accused confessed to having committed the crime. The complainant, in the meanwhile, has left for the US.