New Delhi: A brazen robbery plot hatched over a scrumptious meal at a roadside eatery Thursday afternoon was followed by a wild chase, a burst of gunfire on a busy city flyover and a lucky escape.Police reacted swiftly, launching a manhunt that ended in the arrest of a notorious history-sheeter and his associate within 12 hours.Javed alias Pauva, who has 34 criminal cases against him and recently jumped parole and went into hiding, spotted a businessman wearing a heavy gold chain eating at an outlet of Fateh ki Kachori in Civil Lines. Out to make a quick buck, Javed (38) and his 25-year-old associate, Deepanshu, decided to target the man, who was with a friend, specifically for his chain.After finishing their meal, the man and his friend started their scooter for a hotel. The two criminals, who were on another scooter, began tailing them, waiting for the right moment to pull off a snatch and grab.At 3:45 pm on a crowded Rani Jhansi Flyover, Javed and Deepanshu finally decided to act. They pulled alongside the targets and ordered them to stop. As the businessman attempted to park the scooter, Javed cocked a pistol at him and opened fire, while Deepanshu charged with a button-operated knife.The target reacted swiftly, knocking over the scooter of the two criminals and fleeing on foot towards Tis Hazari Court. Javed pursued them for 50 metres before discharging a second round. However, both the businessman and his friend managed to melt into the panicky crowd. Javed and Deepanshu abandoned the chase and sped off toward Filmistan.The north district team swung into action, said joint commissioner of police Madhur Verma. Under the supervision of DCP Niharika Bhatt, cops launched an immediate operation involving different teams. By leveraging CCTV backtracking and facial recognition system (FRS) software, investigators matched Javed’s face to police databases.A swift raid in Sadar Bazar led to the arrest of Deepanshu. Tipped off by him, a team tracked Javed, who has been involved in cases of rape, robbery and snatching, across state boundaries to Rajasthan’s Bhiwadi, where he was arrested. Police seized two pistols, two live cartridges, a knife and the getaway scooter used in the crime. Both criminals were packed off to jail.
