₹70L jewellery heist: 3 gang members held, 1 absconding

Accused met in Muzaffarnagar jail, used stolen bike, fled via cab; one injured in police encounter, another planned fresh robbery in city.

Faridabad police have arrested three men in connection with the March 11 armed robbery of a jewellery showroom in Sarurpur, officials said Tuesday. Two interstate robbery gang members were held from Uttar Pradesh, while a third was apprehended after an exchange of fire in Surajkund. A fourth accomplice remains on the run.

Footage of the robbery last week. (HT)

The accused have been identified as Mohammad Sakib (26) of Singrara; Mohammad Javed, alias Mental (40), from Bhagra, both in the Muzaffarnagar district; and Dharambir, alias Babu Yadav (38), of Rasulpur in the Sambhal district, Uttar Pradesh.

Sakib was arrested from Loni in Ghaziabad on Sunday, and Javed was held from Bhagra on Monday by the Faridabad Police crime branch. Based on their interrogation, police traced Dharambir, who was apprehended early Tuesday after an exchange of fire on Shooting Range Road in Surajkund, Haryana. Dharambir sustained a bullet injury in his left leg and is stated to be stable.

According to assistant commissioner of police (crime) Varun Kumar Dahiya, Sakib remained outside the showroom during the robbery. “He kept waiting for them on the motorcycle with its engine running. As soon as the two suspects came out after looting the showroom, he helped them flee immediately from the spot,” Dahiya said.

The robbery occurred between 1.46pm and 1.55pm on March 11, when two armed men held owner Sanjay Verma at gunpoint and fled with ornaments worth around ₹70 lakh. Sakib was produced before a court and remanded to five days’ police custody.

Police said the trio escaped to Bajali Colony, where they abandoned the motorcycle stolen from Delhi’s Ramesh Park area on February 21 and fled in a hired cab. The gang’s fourth member, Rehan, who allegedly conducted reconnaissance, is absconding. Police records show Sakib has six criminal cases against him, Javed 11, and Dharambir four. The four accused came in contact while lodged in Muzaffarnagar Prison.