49-year-old jewellery maker arrested for fake IT raids, thefts

Police said Akram had been working in Karol Bagh’s jewellery trade for over 15 years and used his familiarity with the area to help the gang select targets

The Delhi Police Crime Branch arrested a 49-year-old gold jewellery maker for allegedly being a member of a gang that staged fake Income Tax and police raids at jewellery-making workshops in central Delhi’s Karol Bagh, stealing gold worth lakhs and erasing CCTV-DVR footage.

The case came to light on November 27 when the owner of a jewellery-making workshop in Karol Bagh approached Prasad Nagar police, alleging that five to six men had barged into his unit posing as IT officials and Delhi Police personnel. (Representational image)

The accused, Sheikh Akram, was arrested on Sunday from a guest house in CR Park, South Delhi, after being on the run for over two weeks, said the police, adding that 130.16 grams of stolen gold and a Pulsar motorcycle used in the crime were recovered.

The case came to light on November 27 when the owner of a jewellery-making workshop in Karol Bagh approached Prasad Nagar police, alleging that five to six men had barged into his unit posing as IT officials and Delhi Police personnel, said officials.

Officials said that one of them was wearing a fake police uniform. The gang seized the phones of the owner and workers, conducted a “search”, and fled with over one kilogram of gold. They also removed the CCTV DVR to wipe out evidence.

A first information report (FIR) was registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and five accused were arrested earlier by Central district police. Akram, however, managed to evade arrest until the Crime Branch received a specific tip-off about his movement in south Delhi.

“Akram played a crucial role by identifying vulnerable jewellery workshops and sharing inside information with the gang,” said deputy commissioner of police (DCP) (Crime) Vikram Singh. “The conspiracy was planned by the mastermind, a government servant, who exploited the fear of official raids to execute the thefts.”

Police said Akram had been working in Karol Bagh’s jewellery trade for over 15 years and used his familiarity with the area to help the gang select targets. Investigators are now probing the involvement of a government official and checking whether similar fake raids were carried out at other workshops.

Police refused to divulge details of the government official, saying he is still on the run and has been involved in other fake raids.