Nepalese help decamps with valuables, cash from local leader’s house

A Nepalese man linked to a doctor’s murder in Delhi is also tied to a theft at a political leader's home in Gurugram, police revealed.

A Nepalese national wanted in the sensational murder of a doctor in south Delhi’s Jangpura last year has now been linked to a high-profile theft at the Gurugram residence of a local political leader, police said on Friday.

Crime branch Sector 43 officials with the arrested 30-year-old Yuvraj Thapa (HT)

The link came to light after Gurugram police arrested another Nepalese national, 30-year-old Yuvraj Thapa, from Delhi’s Anand Vihar ISBT on Thursday evening as he tried to flee to Nepal.

Thapa, police said, confessed to the theft and identified his associate as Bhim Bahadur Jora -- wanted by Delhi Police in the May 2024 killing of 63-year-old doctor Yogesh Chandra Pal during a burglary. Delhi Police has announced a reward of ₹50,000 on Jora’s arrest.

According to investigators, Thapa had been hired just eight days earlier as domestic help at the Orchid Petals Society home of the leader through a private agency in Delhi.

On Thursday morning, the leader and her husband went for a walk at around 8.30am. When they returned half an hour later, they found their door ajar, cupboards ransacked, and their new house help missing, said Gurugram police spokesperson Sandeep Turan.

“Two gold necklaces, a gold chain, a ring, a diamond bracelet, and other valuables were recovered from Thapa’s possession. However, around ₹2 lakh in cash and the rest of the jewellery were taken by Jora,” investigators said.

Investigators said the duo divided the loot at Aya Nagar, on the Delhi-Gurugram border, before parting ways to escape towards Nepal through different routes. Acting on a tip-off, a crime branch team led by Inspector Narender Sharma intercepted Thapa at Anand Vihar bus terminal within eight hours of the burglary.

During questioning, Thapa revealed that he had acted under Jora’s instructions. Police said Jora, a native of Nepal’s Kailali district, is one of three men accused of strangling Dr Pal to death inside his Jangpura home on May 10, 2024, during a burglary. His name in the Gurugram theft has further tightened the dragnet around him.

“Jora not only masterminded the Gurugram theft but was physically present inside the leader’s residence when the crime was committed,” an officer said. He remains absconding.

Investigators said Thapa had previously worked at an eatery in Delhi before being recruited as domestic help. Within days of joining the household, he allegedly spotted jewellery and cash, and relayed the information to Jora, who then entered the house with him on Thursday morning.

An FIR has been registered at Sector 50 police station under section 306 (theft by servant) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Police teams have also been dispatched to Banbasa in Uttarakhand’s Champawat district, a known Nepal border crossing, to intercept Jora.