Gang of 10 strikes 2 jewellery shops in central Delhi

NEW DELHI: A gang of at least 10 thieves, armed with rods and other equipment, broke into two jewellery shops i n central Delhi’s Anand Parbat early Tuesday, around 4am, and made away with jewellery estimated to be worth around ₹16 lakh.

While the owner of one of the shops claimed that it was a gang of 13, Hindustan Times reporter was able to make out at least 10 purported suspects in the multiple CCTV footages shared by the jewellers to the media.

The suspects were seen walking away in small groups, carrying large sacks on their shoulders.

The police remained mum on the count of suspects, the crime and the probe underway, but an investigator said the suspects are yet to be identified.

“A case under sections 457 (house trespassing) and 380 (theft in dwellings) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered at Anand Parbat police station,” the officer said.

Ashok Kumar Soni, owner of one of the targeted shops, said that he learnt of the crime on Tuesday morning after a local security guard told him that the shutters of the two jewellery shops were damaged in the Baba Faridpuri neighbourhood.

“Our shops are located next to each other. Both shutters were found broken and the showcases and cupboards ransacked,” Soni said.

“All the jewellery items were stolen. I lost jewellery items worth ₹12 lakh. The other jeweller lost around ₹4 lakh worth of jewellery,” he added.

When they checked the CCTV footage from inside the shop as well as the outside cameras, they were shocked by the “audacity” of the thieves.

“They had come prepared. They knew exactly which shops to target. My shop has very strong shutters, but the thieves were able to break it open in about seven minutes,” Soni said.

Most of the suspects appeared to have masked themselves with a cloth or anti-pollution masks.

However, there were at least two suspects who were unmasked. They seemed aware of the presence of CCTV cameras.

“One of the thieves had also brought along a catapult that he used, without much success, to break a CCTV camera,” Soni said.

Inside the shops, the suspects were caught hurriedly dumping jewellery into sacks.

In one footage, some of the suspects can be seen carrying these sacks over the shoulders while were leaving the neighbourhood.