Ludhiana: Thief fakes car breakdown, steals ₹5-lakh garments

The burglary, carried out in the early hours of Saturday, involved a suspect who arrived in a Maruti Swift Dzire and used the car’s open bonnet to portray a breakdown, before breaking into the shop

Posing as a stranded motorist, a burglar made away with garments worth around ₹5 lakh from a readymade store on Bindraband Road in the early hours of Saturday. The burglary, carried out in the early hours of Saturday, involved a suspect who arrived in a Maruti Swift Dzire and used the car’s open bonnet to portray a breakdown, before breaking into the shop.

CCTV footage installed outside the premises captured the sequence. (HT Photo)

The store owner, Gurmeet Singh, said he discovered the theft around 11 am when he reached his outlet and noticed the shutter locks missing. Upon entering, he found the shop ransacked and several garments missing.

CCTV footage installed outside the premises captured the sequence. The suspect parked the Swift Dzire outside the store, opened its bonnet and used an iron rod to break open the shutter. Singh said the shop also has an internal glass door that was found unlocked, but he remains uncertain how the burglar managed to bypass it.

“The accused took garments worth around ₹5 lakh. He could have looted more, but fled when a man who hangs ‘nimbu-mirchi’ charms outside shops arrived nearby,” Singh claimed.

The theft could have been worse, he added, had the suspect not been startled and forced to cut his spree short. Police officials at the Kailash Nagar police post said statements are being recorded and an FIR will be registered. While CCTV captured the car’s registration number, initial checks suggest the number plate was fake.

Investigations are underway to identify and trace the accused.