It many ways was almost a repeat of the December 16 incident in North Delhi on Friday evening but this time there were two alert policemen who foiled the plan.

A young boy and girl take lift from a vehicle with unknown passenger as they had no transport back home. Some distance later, the boy is thrown out of the car and three men proceed with the girl in captivity leaving the hapless boy behind.

Only this time there was a police vehicle just at the right spot. An assistant sub-inspector and a head constable, both in their fifties, not only chased down the car but also overpowered the three young men ensuring that they were arrested and the girl rescued. It was found that all three had previous criminal records against them.

The incident took place around 7 p.m. The couple was returning from Burari and headed towards their respective homes in North East Delhi when they realised that there was no bus or autorickshaw in sight, they were contemplating how to reach home when a car with three men inside stopped and offered to drop them home.

“With no other option, they boarded the car. But soon realised that the three men — later identified as Shiv Kumar, Saurabh Kumar Goswami and Sachin Kumar — had ulterior motives. First they snatched the mobile phones of the duo and then asked the boy to get out of the car upon reaching Wazirabad,” said Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Aslam Khan.

Ms. Khan added that close to where the boy was abandoned was stationed the PCR van Sugar 9 with ASI Mahender and HC Jagdish. The boy narrated the incident to them and they gave the car a chase as it headed towards the Shahadra flyover.

The suspects even tried to hit the police vehicle to prevent it from chasing them but the duo never gave up on their pursuit. They managed to corner the vehicle and one of the two cops got down to take the ignition key out. The duo then overpowered the trio and ensured that they landed where they belonged, police custody.