The police said that Ekta Munshani (24), who works as a senior executive in a multinational firm, failed to get a loan from the bank for her marriage. Her parents, who were against the marriage, had refused to finance it for her.

“Ekta took her younger brother, Ashok (name changed) into confidence and approached one of his friends, Punit, who has a criminal record for snatching. They also managed to take another friend, Prem Chauhan, into confidence. They formed a gang and started operating in September,” a police officer said.

Ekta provided the car, a black Santro, and changed its registration number. She would stop outside busy market places in Delhi like Central Market, Lajpat Nagar, South-Extension, Connaught Place, etc. Her brother and his friends would then snatch items and run to the car for a quick getaway, said the police.

Ekta, Ashok and Prem Chauhan were arrested from the Ring Road, based on a tip-off. A sticker with four digits (5555) and another with a single digit (3) were found in the dashboard of their vehicle, officers said.