Man fakes phone snatching to escape wife’s anger, lodges police complaint

What begun as an investigation to searcch for a snatched phone revealed that the victim had cooked up the story to pacify his wife after he lost the mobile phone in drunken state, the police said on Monday.

According to the cops, a PCR call was received on August 31 at Nangloi Police Station regarding a snatching near Agarwal Tent House in Rajendra Park Extension in which the caller - Ashok Kaushil - alleged that a biker had snatched his mobile phone and fled.

Kaushik appeared to be under the influence of alcohol as he logged his complaint with the police, a police spokesperson said. Following the complaint, an FIR was filed under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and investigation was launched. CCTV footage from multiple nearby cameras was scanned, but no incident of snatching was observed.

However, during the footage review, a local man, Sabar Singh, was traced and questioned. He disclosed that the complainant had approached him to borrow his phone, but he refused since Kaushik was drunk. After a brief argument, he left the spot, an official said.

On being confronted, Kaushik admitted that he had fabricated the story after he lost his phone under the influence of alcohol, and concocted a story to escape his wife’s anger.

His statement was later recorded before a judicial magistrate at the Tis Hazari Court, where he confirmed that no snatching had taken place.