Three held for Rs 1.4 crore jewellery robbery by posing as policemen in Delhi

New Delhi, Sep 22 (PTI) Three men have been arrested for allegedly robbing a jewellery store and fleeing with Rs 20 lakh cash and gold worth Rs 1.4 crore by posing as police personnel, officials said on Monday.

The accused were identified as Prashant Raj Kumar Kadam (25), Shubham Raja Ram Kamble (25) and Vikas Kedar (30), an employee of the jewellery store, police said.

According to police, the incident occurred on September 15 in Shahdara's Farsh Bazaar, when two men entered the shop posing as policemen and fled with the valuables. They stole Rs 20 lakh cash and 1.4 kgs of gold, worth Rs 1.4 crore.

During the investigation, police arrested Vikas. They also traced Prashant and Shubham in Maharashtra and arrested them with the help of the local police, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav said.

"During interrogation, Prashant disclosed that Jeevan and Vikas are his friends, whom he had met about three years ago at a blood donation camp at Sangli," he said.

Around 15 to 20 days before the incident, Vikas, along with his colleague, Jeevan, contacted Prashant and proposed a plan to commit robbery at their employer's jewellery store in Delhi.

They suggested that the robbery be carried out by impersonating police personnel to avoid any resistance from the staff. To execute this plan, Prashant roped in his friend Shubham.

"On September 13, both Prashant and Shubham left Sangli, Maharashtra, by the Goa Express and reached Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station, Delhi, on September 15," the DCP said.

From the railway station, Prashant called Vikas, who instructed them to proceed to Shahdara Metro Station. Once they arrived there, Vikas guided them turn by turn over a social media call to reach the store.

He also instructed them to wait nearby and strike at the right time when the owner of the workshop would leave for lunch.

"At about 1.30 pm, when the owner, Shankar Pujari, went out for lunch, Prashant and Shubham entered the shop impersonating police officials and committed the robbery. The duo went to Uttam Nagar by auto-rickshaw, from where they hired a taxi to Jaipur," he said.

After reaching Jaipur, Vikas made Prashant and Shubham board a bus to Mumbai while he stayed back in Jaipur. Subsequently, Vikas called his employer and concocted a false story of his own kidnapping and robbery to divert suspicion, he added.

On this, the police reached Jaipur and took Vikas into custody for questioning. However, during interrogation, he repeatedly misled the police by giving false information, DCP Yadav said.

Only after sustained and intensive questioning conducted by the team, Vikas finally confessed to the crime and admitted his active involvement in the conspiracy and execution of this robbery.

The police are yet to ascertain Jeevan's involvement in the crime. Further investigation is underway, DCP Yadav added. PTI SSJ SSJ HIG HIG