Mohali: Seven food delivery employees booked for ₹2 lakh inventory theft

While preparing the order inside the warehouse, the employees allegedly removed the ordered items and packed two litres of Amul desi ghee, five kg of Rozana rice and Fortune sugar worth ₹2,310

Seven employees of a Swiggy Instamart hub in Zirakpur allegedly stole inventory by replacing items in online orders with costlier products and concealing cigarette packets in their clothes, causing a reported loss of ₹2 Lakh. Zirakpur Police booked the employees after the company found the alleged thefts through an order trail, CCTV footage and a security check.

Police have registered a case under Section 306 of the Bharatiya Nayaya Sanhita (BNS) which deals with theft committed by a clerk in respect of property belonging to their master. (HT)

The case relates to the Swiggy Networks Limited store in the basement of Hollywood Plaza on VIP Road. The complaint names Munish Khanna, Rahul, Sonu Goswami, Sufiyan, Prabhjot, Rajesh and Himanshu Kumar Mishra.

According to the complaint, the company first detected the alleged order-substitution method through an online order placed on July 27. Khanna, Rahul, Goswami and Sufiyan allegedly used Rahul’s mobile phone to place an order for two packets of Swiss rolls and two bags of grain rice worth ₹160.

While preparing the order inside the warehouse, the employees allegedly removed the ordered items and packed two litres of Amul desi ghee, five kg of Rozana rice and Fortune sugar worth ₹2,310. They then routed the parcel to Khanna’s home address, according to the complaint.

The four employees stopped reporting for work after supervisors questioned them about the order. The company suspects they had used accounts linked to Khanna and Goswami to carry out similar substitutions on earlier dates.

The second method involved cigarette stock. Between August 2 and 16, CCTV footage allegedly showed Prabhjot, Rajesh and Mishra taking cigarette packets from storage sections and hiding them in their undergarments before leaving the facility.

On August 15, security staff stopped Rajesh during an exit check and recovered three cigarette packets from him. According to the complaint, Rajesh later gave a written statement admitting that the group had been stealing cigarettes.

He allegedly told the company that the stolen stock was taken across the road to Shahi Paan Shake, a shop opposite the Instamart outlet. The employees allegedly sold packets below their marked prices, including ₹450 packets for ₹300 and ₹150- ₹175 packets for ₹100.

The company representative submitted the initial complaint on August 18 along with CCTV footage stored on a flash drive and Rajesh’s statement.

Police have registered a case under Section 306 of the Bharatiya Nayaya Sanhita (BNS) which deals with theft committed by a clerk or servant in respect of property belonging to or in the possession of their master or employer and 3(5). Police are tracking the seven employees, while the company has started an audit to determine the total inventory loss.