Hans News Service New Delhi

Analleged hotel tout, accused of luring an Indian Army personnel into a robbery trap near the New Delhi Railway Station, has been arrested after evading police for nearly eight months, with all four accused in the case now in custody, police said on Thursday.

The case pertains to an incident reported on December 3, 2025, in which the serving Army personnel from Sikkim alleged that he was robbed after being lured to a budget hotel in Paharganj while waiting to board a train to Punjab.

According to the police, the victim was approached by a tout who offered him a room at a hotel for Rs 600. After checking in, the tout allegedly kept offering the services of a woman, which the soldier repeatedly declined.

“Despite his refusal, a woman entered the room and allegedly alerted her associates. Three men then barged into the room, wrongfully confined and assaulted the Army personnel, and forced him to transfer Rs 7,500 through UPI after linking his SBI bank accounts,” a senior police officer said.

The accused also searched his belongings for cash before fleeing. The victim alleged that he was threatened by the hotel manager when he informed him about the incident while checking out.

Police registered an FIR at Paharganj police station and arrested hotel manager Sohel Akhtar, waiter Chote Lal and sweeper Sanjay on December 4, 2025.

“During interrogation, the trio allegedly disclosed that travellers arriving at the railway station were lured to the hotel on the promise of cheap accommodation and later extorted on the pretext of payment for sexual services,” the officer said.