CCTV cams help cops nab gang of 7

Police have arrested seven people who were involved in robbing jewellery worth Rs 1 crore from a showroom in southeast Delhi. The showroom belonged to an elderly man called Naseeb Chand Aggarwal.

The arrested included a travel agent, a DTC bus conductor, a fruit vendor, and four other associates.

The robbery took place on June 13, after which Aggarwal called up the police and informed them about the incident. He told the police that he owns a showroom of imported fabrics in the Nehru Enclave of Kalkaji area and that he had been alone with his wife and servant since his son was away with his family on a vacation.

"Around 8 pm, when Aggarwal had gone to a gym at a nearby hotel, four armed men with knives and pistols and their faces covered, barged into his house on the fourth floor. He said the men tied up his wife and waited for him to return," said Romil Baaniya, DCP, Southeast.

"When he (Aggarwal) returned around 8.30 pm, he was overpowered, thrashed, and held captive. They then snatched the keys of the safe and took away cash of around Rs 10 lakh and at least 10 to 15 boxes of jewellery worth near a crore. They also fled with the keys of his shop and escaped with the cash kept in the showroom," he said.

Police said the CCTV cameras at the premises of the complainant's residence were found to be not functioning.

A close scrutiny of the employees of the complainant, who had left their job recently, helped the police zero in on one Rupesh Kumar Singh. Singh had been working as a salesman in the complainant's showroom but had left the job last year.

"Technical surveillance helped us track down the suspect's movements in remote areas of Bihar along the Nepal border. We found that they were frequently changing their locations near these areas. Several raids were conducted at their hideouts in Delhi, UP, and Bihar, following which the six accused, and Rupesh Kumar were arrested," the DCP said.

The other accused were identified as Sonu Gupta, Mohammad Imtiyaz Khan, Ramjan Ali, Sudhir, and Aaksh.

During interrogation they disclosed that Rupesh was the mastermind of the robbery.

"Sonu is also a former employee of the complainant, and Sudhir is his store manager. While Sudhir and Sonu did a recce, Rupesh formed the gang. Their escape to Nepal was facilitated by the receiver of a stolen property, one Shamsher, who was also arrested following a raid," a senior officer said.