The police said the four accused were arrested during routine checking in Prashant Vihar area of Outer Delhi.

Two accused are students of Himalaya Public School and two are from the DAV Public School. They all live in Rohni, Sector-7.

“After a woman complained that somebody had snatched her purse, we launched an extensive search on late Wednesday. During a picket checking, two boys on a Pulsar motorcycle were stopped. During checking they broke down and confessed to their crimes. Later, they revealed the names of their other two accomplices,” a senior police official said.

Seven bank cards, six mobile phones, Rs 1,700 and two bikes — Bajaj Pulsar and Hero Honda Karizma— have been recovered from their possession. They have been sent to the Juvenile Justice Home.

The police said all accused hail from affluent families. Father of one runs a plastic factory, while another has a tube light factory. The fathers of the other two accused have real estate and dry fruit businesses.

“During interrogation, we learnt that they were carrying out snatchings for the last seven-eight months. Before resorting to the crime, they had witnessed a snatching incident and later discussed it among themselves how simple it was,” a police officer said.

On their bikes, they carried out their first crime when they snatched a woman’s purse in May last year, the police said. After that they regularly indulged in snatchings.