On the night of November 17, Amit Verma, 35, who had been working at a jewelery shop in Chandni Chowk for 10 years, asked his wife and daughters to switch off their phones. The next morning, according to CCTV footage, he was at Kanha Jewelers asking for some items – 110 rings and 30 necklaces, the total weight of which was 1.08 kg – from its owner Pankaj Goyal. Since exchange of jewelery is a common practice among jewelers in Chandni Chowk, Goyal did not suspect anything.
“However, Verma ran away with the goods,” said DCP (North) Raja Banthiya. He said the accused was arrested on November 23 with stolen items worth Rs 1 crore.
According to police, Verma was allegedly planning the theft for months. “He had a loan of Rs 80 lakh from several lenders and was under pressure to repay it. “That’s when he started thinking about a theft taking place at the shop where he worked,” said a police officer.
According to the police, since his employer used to send him to fetch jewelery from nearby shops, he thought this was the easiest way to get his hands on some expensive jewelery and run away. “He knew a day in advance that an important customer was going to visit the shop. “He had already been told by the owner that he would have to go to Kanha Jewelers on November 18 to collect some samples to show to the customer,” an official said.
Police said CCTV footage showed Verma, after fleeing with the stolen goods, boarding an auto from Chandni Chowk and getting down at Azad Nagar. “He entered a house in East Azad Nagar area. The resident was his friend. When the resident was questioned, he said that on the day of the incident, Verma had come to his room after committing the crime and left after separating the jewelery from the boxes on the same day,” said Banthia.
The accused was constantly roaming and hiding in Haridwar and Saharanpur to avoid being caught. “Several addresses were identified in his CDR, but no concrete leads emerged,” the DCP said.
Meanwhile, Verma asked a friend in Farrukhabad, UP, to arrange for the sale of the stolen jewellery, police said. However, before leaving he called his friend in East Azad Nagar. After this the friend informed the police.
“On the evening of November 23, two officers in plain clothes were standing at the ISBT and a trap was laid. Verma was apprehended, and 913 grams of gold items were recovered from his possession,” said DCP Banthia.