Promised Delhi’s best daal, trader drugged, robbed of 1.3kg gold

The accused, also a gold trader from Amritsar, allegedly convinced the victim to come to Delhi for a deal

A 40 year-old-gold trader was robbed of 1.3kg gold after his friend sedated him in a hotel in Paharganj, central Delhi on Tuesday, police said on Thursday.

Police said a first information report was registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 123 ( causing hurt by poison type substance) and 305 a (theft in a building). (Representational image)

The victim, Pardeep Kumar, is a gold trader from Amritsar, police said. The accused, identified as Prabh Singh, also a gold trader from Amritsar, allegedly convinced Kumar to come to Delhi for a deal, police said.

“They checked into a hotel in Paharganj on Tuesday morning. At night, the accused told the victim that he knows an eatery which serves the best ‘daal’ in Delhi. At first the victim declined, but the accused tempted him by saying the ‘daal’ had lots of butter and was very tasty. The accused then left to get the daal. At night, the victim ate it and immediately fell asleep. When he woke up, his gold, his friend and the daal were missing from the room,” said deputy commissioner of police (central) Nidhin Valsan.

According to police, Singh told Kumar that he had brought the daal from a nearby restaurant in Daryaganj.

Police said a first information report was registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 123 ( causing hurt by poison type substance) and 305 a (theft in a building).

“He said he had gold jewellery weighing 1,340gm which his associate fled with. The gold was worth approximately ₹13,33,032. We are looking for the accused,” said Valsan.

Police said that the accused has switched off his mobile phone, and they have sent teams to Delhi and Punjab to look for him.