Arrest Made In Delhi Metro Graffiti Vandalism Case

A 33-year-old individual residing in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr has been accused of vandalizing walls and coaches at Delhi Metro stations with graffiti containing objectionable remarks directed at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Ankit Goel, the alleged perpetrator, was apprehended after CCTV footage from Metro stations purportedly showed him in the act of defacing Metro signboards.

On May 20, a complaint was lodged by the supervisor of Patel Nagar Metro station regarding the defacement. Additionally, several other complaints were received by the police concerning similar graffiti at various Metro stations and coaches, all attributed to unidentified individuals. Consequently, a case was registered under Section 3 of the Delhi Prevention of Defacement of Public Property Act and Section 72 of the Delhi Metro Railway Act at the Raja Garden Metro police station, following a complaint from the DMRC.

A police task force, led by ACP Dwijendranath Sharma and DCP (Metro) Dr. Ram Gopal Naik, was assembled to apprehend the suspect. DCP Naik stated that the team meticulously scrutinized CCTV footage from the affected Metro stations to identify the culprit and corroborate the sequence of events. Investigation revealed that Goel boarded a Metro train from Barakhamba and proceeded to deface various stations' walls while documenting his actions and sharing them on social media.

By analyzing Goel's social media activity and posts, authorities identified him traveling with friends in a vehicle. Subsequently, the police traced Goel to Bareilly and arrested him. During interrogation, Goel admitted to arriving in Delhi on May 13 for personal matters and staying in different hotels across Delhi-NCR. He claimed to suffer from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and confessed to single-handedly creating the graffiti on May 19.

DCP Goel disclosed that the accused is an engineering graduate and has been employed as a credit manager at a nationalized bank in Bareilly for several years. Prior to this, he worked as an electronic and software expert in various software companies nationwide.