4 held in Moti Bagh burglary, targeted homes during school hours: Cops

Four men, including habitual offenders, were arrested for a burglary at a government official's residence in Moti Bagh. CCTV footage led to their capture.

Four men were arrested for allegedly committing a burglary at the residence of a government official in Moti Bagh on July 24, according to the police. The suspects, identified as Ram Ji Lal alias Pappu, 55, Gopal Kumar, 38, his brother Deepak Kumar, 34, all residents of Trilokpuri, and Rahul Rastogi, 4, a receiver of stolen property from Shashi Garden, were apprehended, deputy commissioner of police (southwest) Rohit Meena said on Monday.

The gang targeted nuclear families when parents were away on daily chores, such as dropping off children or buying groceries, said police. (File Photo)

The gang reportedly targeted homes during school hours when family members were away dropping or picking up children, police said. The incident came to light when Saurabh Aggarwal, an officer on special duty (OSD) to a minister of state, reported that his house had been burgled while he and his family were in Gurugram around 2pm. Upon returning in the evening, they discovered their jewellery and cash missing. The lock on their door was broken, and the house had been ransacked. A case under relevant sections was registered, and an investigation commenced.

Investigators obtained and reviewed CCTV footage from the vicinity, which showed a suspicious Swift Dzire car. “The team reviewed the CCTV footage of the area and spotted the car. With the help of CCTVs, they followed the car and obtained its number plate. It was found that the number plate was fake. They took the car to Trilokpuri and removed the fake number plate. They replaced it with the original number plate having UP registration number,” an investigator said.

Police said that the gang conducted reconnaissance before breaking into homes during school hours. They targeted nuclear families when parents were away on daily chores, such as dropping off children or buying essentials. “They entered my house within five minutes of us leaving and left the house in the next 10 minutes,” complainant Saurabh Aggarwal told HT, based on CCTV evidence.

The investigation also revealed that Lal is a habitual offender with 26 prior cases of burglary and theft in Kalyanpuri police station records. Gopal Kumar is involved in six previous cases. The police suspect that more unreported cases may be linked to this gang and are continuing their investigation.