2 Afghans held for stealing money, including dollars, from

Two Afghan nationals have been arrested in connection with a theft of USD 10,000 and Rs 3 lakh from a restaurant run by another Afghan in south-east Delhi's Lajpat Nagar area, police said today.
Afghan national Ahmad Fawed Ahnadri, the owner of Mazaar restaurant in Lapat Nagar-II, had lodged a police complaint on December 16 accusing his two employees, Zakriya Hamraj and Shahim Halim, both Afghan nationals, of stealing USD 10,000 and Rs 3 lakh from his restaurant.
The incident of theft which occurred around 4.30 pm on that day was captured by CCTV cameras installed in the shop.
A case was registered at Lajpat Nagar police station and a probe launched, said DCP (south-east) Romil Baaniya.

Initially, it was difficult to trace the accused as the address provided by the complainant was found to be fake and their mobile phones were switched off, police said.
Police received information through sources that the accused were trying to escape to Afghanistan via Nepal as they did not have valid passports or visa.

Subsequently, it was found out that Hamraj was trying to cross over to Nepal via Sonauli border at Uttar Pradesh's Maharajganj. He was nabbed by a Delhi Police team from there on December 31, said the officer.
Hamraj had come to Delhi in 2015 on tourist visa and started working at Ahmad's restaurant. His brother lived in Gurgaon on a UN refugee card and worked at a restaurant there, he added.

Hamraj confessed to the police that he, along with Halim, had hatched a conspiracy to steal money and other valuables from the restaurant.
Halim, who was born in Baghlan in Afghanistan, had come to Delhi in April, 2015 and started working as a helper in the kitchen of Mazaar.
He was arrested from Mahipalpur on Tuesday on the basis of information provided by Hamraj, the officer said.
Rs 1.22 lakh in cash and a goldchain were recovered from the arrested duo, he added.