Noida: Two employees accused of robbing a scrap trader of a bag containing Rs 6 lakh and a laptop were arrested after being injured in a gunfight with police in Muradnagar early on Sunday. The trader’s own driver was later held for allegedly helping plan the crime.Police identified the two injured accused as Arsalan (24) and Lakhan (22), both from Meerut. Nitin Yadav (26), the driver of the victim’s pickup van and also a Meerut resident, was arrested after the two allegedly named him during questioning. Police are looking for another accused, Irshad.Md Savez Saifi, a scrap trader from Meerut, told police he was returning from Delhi between 2am and 3am in his Bolero pickup van with driver Nitin after transporting scrap material. On Pipeline Road in Muradnagar, two men on a motorcycle allegedly came up from behind, struck the driver’s side, overtook the vehicle and forced it to stop.Saifi said the two then assaulted him and Nitin and snatched a black bag marked “Vidya University”, which contained Rs 6 lakh in cash and an HP laptop, and fled. He alerted police through the 112 emergency helpline.DCP (rural) Surendra Nath Tiwari said an FIR was registered at Muradnagar police station under Section 309 of BNS for robbery, and five police teams were formed to trace the accused.ACP Bhaskar Verma said CCTV footage from the area helped police identify a suspect motorcycle. Acting on a tip-off, a check-post was set up on Khurampur Road. “When police signalled the bike to stop, the riders turned sharply and tried to flee. Their motorcycle skidded on a dirt track. As they ran, they opened fire at the cops, who retaliated in self-defence. Both were injured, arrested and sent for treatment,” he added.During questioning, the two allegedly confessed to the robbery and named Nitin and Irshad as co-conspirators. Tiwari said Irshad worked as a labour contractor at Saifi’s factory in Meerut, where Arsalan and Lakhan were employed, and the group had allegedly plotted the robbery together.Police said they recovered the stolen bag, Rs 6 lakh cash, the laptop, the motorcycle, two country-made .315 bore pistols, two live cartridges and two spent cartridges.
