In and out with ₹2.3 crore: Robbers strike office in Chandni Chowk

The robbers assaulted and tied up a 16-year-old employee before fleeing with the cash in bags and taking away the office's CCTV DVR.

The crime was executed as if it were straight out of a Hollywood movie.

Traders in Kucha Mahajani have raised concerns over security, citing previous armed robberies targeting jewellery shops and people carrying large amounts of cash. (Raj K Raj/HT Photo/Representational Image)

Four men with handguns stormed a third-floor office in a building in Chandni Chowk on Wednesday morning, just as the bustling market was beginning to stir. They knew the office belonged to an “angadiya” business – an informal courier service that transports large sums of cash. They also appeared to know how much money was kept inside, where it was stored and who had the keys.

The men threatened an employee, beat him up, tied his hands and forced him to hand over the keys. They then opened cupboards, stuffed ₹2.3 crore in cash into bags and walked out, threatening to kill the employee if he raised an alarm. A getaway car waited nearby, allowing them to escape the narrow lanes of Old Delhi.

This is how investigators said a broad daylight robbery unfolded on Wednesday at an angadiya office in Kucha Brijnath, next to Kucha Mahajani market.

The office is barely 200 metres from the Church Mission police booth. According to police, four men entered the building around 10.30 am, aware that only one employee and the owner would be present before the office became fully operational.

A senior police officer, who declined to be named, said one employee, aged around 16, was cleaning the office when the men barged in and threatened him with four pistols. They assaulted him and tied him with adhesive tape, the officer said.

The robbers took the keys and emptied the cupboards of ₹2.3 crore, carrying the cash away in bags they had brought with them. Before leaving, they threatened to kill the employee if he stepped outside the office. The assailants also took away the DVR of the CCTV system installed in the room.

Police said the getaway car was parked opposite Old Delhi railway station, around 100 metres away. The employees came out later and alerted the owner and police.

Police investigation

An FIR has been registered at Lahori Gate police station under sections relating to robbery, criminal intimidation, causing hurt and the Arms Act.

A second police officer said more than four teams were examining CCTV footage to trace the suspects and reconstruct their escape route. Senior officers, including the deputy commissioner of police (North), visited the spot.

Investigators are also analysing active mobile connections detected by local cell towers, Internet Protocol Detail Record (IPDR) data and footage from automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras used for traffic monitoring.

Traders raise safety concerns

The robbery adds to a series of daylight crimes targeting cash and jewellery businesses in the area. In February, three armed men allegedly looted gold jewellery worth around ₹60 lakh from a shop in Kinari Bazar. In October last year, an armed assailant robbed a man of ₹80 lakh in less than 48 seconds after firing a shot in the air.

Yogesh Singhal, chairman of the Bullion and Jewellers Association in Kucha Mahajani, said traders were increasingly worried about their safety.

“We are all living in fear as this keeps happening at our shops as well as offices nearby. Men are also targeted on bikes or near Chandni Chowk. There are major security issues here. There’s hardly any deployment here,” he said, adding that the gang appeared to have chosen the morning because the market was not yet crowded.

“We keep telling local staff to increase deployment but not much is done,” he said.