Gurugram, Mar 16 (IANS): The crime branch here arrested two highway robbers for looting passengers while offering them a lift on the Delhi-Gurugram expressway and other parts of Delhi.

Rajbeer Deshwal, DCP, Crime Branch, said that the accused used lighters that looked like pistols to threaten passengers and looted valuables and ATM cards.

"We received information about a suspicious gang at DLF building near Cyber City. Subsequently, the Crime Branch unit of Sector 39 headed towards the spot and overpowered the two accused and seized a Vento car," Deshwal said.

During interrogation, the accused admitted using lighters shaped like pistols to threaten passengers. It would also act as a cover in case they were apprehended by police.

The accused have been identified as Sandeep Sharma and Sumit, both residents of Shahibabad in Uttar Pradesh.

"As per their disclosure, the accused would start their journey from their home town in the evening and would look for passengers who were travelling alone. They would offer lift and then rob them of cash, jewellery, mobile phones, ATM cards and pins at 'gunpoint'," Deshwal said.

"The accused also kept pollution masks with them which they would use while withdrawing cash from ATM kiosks to evade being caught on camera," the DCP said.

He added that Sumit is a history sheeter, who was involved in similar crimes in the past, and had served a jail term in Delhi's Tihar jail for 15 months. He was released on bail in January this year.