A 36-year-old taxi driver was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly stealing jewellery worth ₹50 lakh and ₹6.7 lakh in cash from the parking lot of Ashok Hotel in Chanakyapuri. The police have recovered the jewellery and ₹3.5 lakh in cash.
The accused, Gurwinder Singh, was arrested from the general taxi stand near north Delhi’s Mata Jai Kaur public school. The police used the CCTV footage of the hotel to identify the man.
Wedding ceremony
On April 30, a complaint was registered by one Dr. Aakash who had come to the Capital from Rajasthan to attend his sister’s wedding.
He was staying at a hotel in south Delhi’s Sarojini Nagar and had come to Ashok Hotel for the ceremony.
He told the police that a bag containing jewellery, cash and clothes was stolen from the boot of his car following which an FIR was registered.
“After attending the marriage, the complainant came back to the car and found that his bag had been stolen. He reported the matter in Chanakyapuri police station,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) B. K. Singh.
The police then examined the CCTV footage of the VVIP area of the hotel’s parking lot and found a car and a driver to be suspicious.
‘Boot was open’
It was learnt that the car was hired by a hotel guest from the general taxi stand. “A raid was conducted and the accused, Gurwinder Singh, was detained and interrogated,” said the officer.
Upon investigation, Mr. Singh revealed that on the night of April 30, he had dropped off the passengers at the hotel and then spotted a car in the parking lot that had its boot open.
“He watched the movement of the other occupants of the car as well as hotel staff. After finding the right opportunity, he stole the bag from the car,” said DCP Singh.
