Son of Kanpur baker behind Bhoothnath jewellery shop theft

DCP North Abhijeet R Shankar said the accused then went to a shop in Laxmanpuri lane and later booked a cab to return to his car parked near the jeweller’s shop.

LUCKNOW: In connection with a recent theft at a jeweller’s shop in Bhoothnath market a youth from Kanpur was arrested on Wednesday. The accused, Fahim Ahmad from Kidwai Nagar, is the son of a prominent baker in Kanpur. He and his sister had come to Lucknow on the day of the incident in their car, as his sister had to take a UPSC exam at a centre in the city.

Using the car’s registration details, the police traced him to his residence in Kanpur and apprehended him. (Sourced)

According to the police, Fahim had initially visited the shop to pass the time but succumbed to greed upon seeing the glittering gold ornaments, and subsequently planned to steal them.

On the day of the incident, Fahim parked his car near Panchwati park, close to the jeweller’s shop, and went inside the air-conditioned shop to seek respite from the scorching heat. While inside the shop, he hatched a plan to deceive the shop owner, Siddharth Rastogi, and steal the ornaments. Initially asking to see ornaments to pass the time, Fahim’s motives turned to greed. He selected two gold chains and two gold bracelets, informing Siddharth that he would make an online payment once he had funds in his e-wallet and pretended to talk to his family on his phone. CCTV footage captured him abruptly standing from his chair with the phone in his ear, before swiftly fleeing the scene.

Siddharth immediately raised an alarm and chased after Fahim. Other shop owners joined him, but Fahim leaped over a low-height boundary wall in a nearby park and vanished from sight.

DCP North Abhijeet R Shankar said the accused then went to a shop in Laxmanpuri lane and later booked a cab to return to his car parked near the jeweller’s shop.

“He did a blunder, and the police got a lead about him after scanning the CCTV footage,” the DCP said. The DCP added that police contacted the Ola driver, obtaining Fahim’s mobile number. Using the car’s registration details, they traced him to his residence in Kanpur and apprehended him.

According to the police, the accused confessed to the crime and said that after dropping his sister at the examination centre he reached Bhoothnath market and went inside the shop. “Initially intending to pass time, he succumbed to greed and stole the ornaments. Later that evening, he picked up his sister and they returned to Kanpur,” police said.