noida

Updated: Sep 11, 2018 10:18 IST

A 23-year-old B.Tech student of a private university in Noida allegedly staged a fake robbery to steal Rs 4 lakh belonging to his father to finance a gymnasium. The man lodged an FIR for robbery and told the police on September 8 that seven armed robbers had robbed Rs 4 lakh from him and also tried to loot his Toyota Fortuner SUV.

However, the police on Monday busted the plot and arrested Shivam Mavi for allegedly staging a fake robbery near the Banthla canal area under the jurisdiction of Loni police station. The arrested man is a civil engineering student and belongs to Bishanpur in Noida’s sector 58.

“The man was bringing Rs 4 lakh from his uncle in Loni and was on his way to Noida, when he called the police and claimed that he was robbed by several armed men. His Fortuner car was recovered a kilometre away from the alleged scene of crime. The police, on the basis of eyewitness statements, found that the money was not robbed but handed over to the accused’s friends by him,” Vaibhav Krishna, senior superintendent of police (SSP), Ghaziabad, said.

The police said that Shivam had called one of his friends to the spot on the day of the incident around 11am, but got delayed himself as he had to wait for some more time at his uncle’s for the money.

“The cash was kept in a polythene bag. Shivam arrived around 12 noon at the alleged scene of crime, where his friend was already waiting. After his friend left, the accused called up his uncle about the ‘robbery’ and his uncle in turn called the police,”an officer from Loni police station said.

After lodging an initial case for robbery, the police have now converted it into a case of cheating, criminal breach of trust and producing false evidence.

During the investigation, the police found that Shivam had called up one of his friends just before he claimed he was robbed. The police questioned the two men and based on their contradictory statements deduced the plot.

“Shivam had claimed that three men looted his car and thrashed him before taking away his car and cash. Then, four more men arrived and told the other three to hurry up and leave the spot. We got a medical test conducted, but it proved that the man received no injuries during the alleged incident,” the officer said.

The continuing investigation turned against Shivam very soon. According to the police, the accused wanted to open a gym but his father refused to finance him.

“The accused owed Rs 5,000 and Rs 7,000 to two of his friends. Before calling the police, Shivam gave Rs 4 lakh to one of his friends and asked him to deduct his Rs 5,000 and hand over the balance to the other friend. The entire amount was recovered from the Noida house of his second friend. The two friends have not been accused in the case, as they had no knowledge of the fake robbery plan,” SSP Krishna said.

The two friends told police that Shivam handed over the money to them, saying it was a chit fund collection and should be kept safe.

The police said the accused told his friends that he would be out of station for a while and would take back the money upon his return.