The victim gave lift to accused who was disguised as a wounded man, says police. (Representational)
Sixty minutes is all it took the Gautam Buddh Nagar Police to arrest a man and impound the motorcycle he robbed on a highway near the Air Force camp in Badalpur in Noida today.
At 12.01 pm, officials at the Badalpur Police Station got a call from UP 100 service, alerting them about the robbery on the GT Road, the police said.
"We were informed a man has been robbed off his motorcycle and injured by two men," Badalpur Station House Officer Vijay Kumar said.
The accused, identified as Chhotu alias Sonu, 24, had disguised as a wounded man and stood along the road. When the victim, a resident of Brij Vihar, passed by, Chhotu signalled for a hitch-hike.
"Out of compassion, the victim agreed to give him a lift. But no sooner did he stop, Chhotu started hitting him and soon his accomplice emerged from the bushes nearby. The two then overpowered the victim," the SHO said.
Soon, Chhotu fled the spot on the robbed motorcycle while his accomplice, who is yet to be held, left on a scooty, he said.
The victim in the meantime called up the UP police's emergency 100 service number, and the message was relayed to the Badalpur Police Station.
"We immediately informed our teams on patrol duty and those posted on the GT road," Mr Kumar said.
Meanwhile Chhotu, who had reached some distance on the GT road riding the motorcycle, spotted a police picket ahead of him.
"He returned on the same route from where he had started. By the time a police response vehicle (PRV) of UP 100 team, too, had reached the spot. In a fix, he got down on a kachcha rasta where the motorcycle got stuck. The PRV followed him and nabbed him," Mr Kumar said.
"It took the police less than an hour to arrest him since the time the matter was reported," he added.
The police said Chhotu has been booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 392 for robbery and related offences. The accused has been produced in court and the motorcycle would be returned to the victim post legal proceedings, the police said.
Upon probe, it has been found that Chhotu already had cases registered against him under the IPC, the Arms Act and the UP Goonda Act, they said.
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