By IANS
New Delhi : ‘Bikini killer’ Charles Sobhraj, facing trial in Nepal, continued to inspire criminals with his modus operandi. Three such men were arrested here for drugging and looting 70 people in several states, the police said Thursday.
Sleuths of the recently formed Special Operation Squad (SOS) of Delhi Police in their first major catch arrested Manish Soni, 36, Sachin Gandhi, 28, and Avinder, 45, last week in the capital for allegedly looting 70 people, mainly affluent businessman, in Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Goa, Madhya Pradesh and Nepal after lacing their victims’ drinks and eatables with sedatives.
“The accused, in their interrogation, revealed that they were inspired by Sobhraj’s modus operandi of first befriending his victims and then robbing them after lacing their drinks and eatables with drugs,” said Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Satyendra Garg.
“When the accused would get enough cash, they used to travel business class, stay in five-star hotels and gamble in casinos of Goa and Nepal. They were living a lavish life,” he said.
The police said the accused used to mainly target businessmen like interior decorators, watch dealers, furniture dealers, financers, transporters, mobile shop owners and owners of amusement parks.
“Their other victims include NRIs, couples, train passengers, air passengers, travellers, truck drivers, taxi and auto rickshaw drivers, chat vendors, senior citizens, call girls and even their personal friends,” Garg said.
The official told reporters that the families of Soni and Gandhi had a history of indulging in gambling in Goa and Nepal. The duo initially met in a Kathmandu casino.
“They had lost million of rupees in gambling. Then they started to borrow money for gambling. In March last year, they met again in Goa. Taking a cue from print and electronic media reports about Sobhraj and some criminal gangs, they decided to adopt their modus operandi,” he said.
According to the police, they began in April 2007 by cheating Soni’s father, who runs an eatery shop on the Kalka-Shimla Highway. They laced his tea with drugs and decamped with cash and other valuables.
After this success, they committed similar crimes elsewhere and included Avinder in their gang.
The police have recovered 23 mobile phones, Rs.16,000 in cash, credit/ATM cards, a huge quantity of sedative tablets, fake identity proofs, fake vehicle number plates and four cars from their possession.
Three well-known city jewellers – Vijay Kohli, 54, of New Jhelam Jewellers, Gurudwara Road, Karol Bagh; Sumesh Dua, 33, of Maharani Jewellers, Gurudwara Road; and Manish Aggarwal, 30, of Aggarwal Jewellers, Ashram – were also arrested for receiving stolen jewellery.
The police said all the accused were sent in police custody till Jan 16.