A jeweller from Chandni Chowk was allegedly robbed of gold and jewellery worth nearly Rs.2 crore and 3 lakh in cash near a Sub-Divisional Magistrate’s office in Geeta Colony here on Saturday night.
The robbers drove away with the victim’s car in which cash and jewellery were kept, a modus operandi similar to the one used by robbers in the Rs.8-crore Lajpat Nagar heist reported earlier this year.
According to the police, the victim – Rajesh Kumar – deals in trading of wholesale jewellery and runs his business from Chandni Chowk. After the day’s work on Saturday, he left for his home in Preet Vihar. His driver Babloo was with him when the incident took place.
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As his car reached near East Delhi’s SDM office around 10 p.m., a Maruti Zen intercepted it and forced it to stop. Two men, one armed with a pistol and another with a knife, then alighted from the car and ordered Mr. Kumar and his driver to open the door and exit the vehicle.
The victim told the police that his driver refused to roll down the glass after which they shattered it and pulled both of them out.
“One of them ordered Rajesh to hand over the bag containing jewellery. When Rajesh resisted, he was thrashed and the bag snatched from him. They then allegedly dumped the duo on the roadside before driving away their car. The jewellery, mostly in the form of bricks, were worth about Rs.2 crore, the victim claims,” said a police officer. Before leaving, the suspects also took the mobile phones of Mr. Kumar and Babloo. They later informed the police about the incident and a case of robbery and assault was registered against unidentified persons.
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Police suspect an insider’s role in the robbery and are checking the CCTV footages in Chandni Chowk to see if any Maruti Zen car was following Rajesh’s car at any point of time. They are questioning his employees, including his driver Babloo. Efforts are on to identify the suspects, said the police.