2 Ghaziabad cops shunted out over ₹3 crore theft at Indirapuram

The watches that the gang decamped with include those of expensive brands such as Rado, Versace, Tissot, Longines, Seiko, Movado and Titan, among others

The Ghaziabad police on Monday suspended the station house officer (SHO) of Indirapuram and police-post in-charge of Kanawani for laxity in duty after a gang of thieves made off with about 600 expensive watches worth about ₹3 crore from a showroom in Ahinsa Khand-2 area of Indirapuram early Sunday.

There were about 10-12 members in the gang who stood outside the showroom and two of them open the main shutter with the help of some equipment to enter the showroom. (HT Photo (Video grabs))

The theft was captured by CCTV cameras installed inside and outside the showroom.

There were about 10-12 members in the gang who stood outside the showroom and two of them open the main shutter with the help of some equipment to enter the showroom, said Shyam Sundar Gupta, owner of the showroom.

Based on Gupta’s complaint, the Ghaziabad police registered a first information report (FIR) under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 305 (theft) and 331(4) (house trespass or house break in after sunset) at Indirapuram police station.

“The SHO of Indirapuram and police-post in-charge of Kanawani have been suspended on account of dereliction of duty. A major theft happened in their jurisdiction,” said Nimish Patil, deputy commissioner of police (DCP), trans-Hindon.

The incident came to fore around 9am on Sunday when Gupta’s son checked the CCTVs footage from the showroom on his mobile phone. The gang had entered the showroom at 3.43am Sunday and fled after about 40 minutes with two bags full of expensive watches.

On Sunday, Gupta said, “First, the gang lifted the main shutter with some equipment. Later, they opened the glass door entered the shop, while the others kept watch outside. The two thieves inside collected about 600 expensive watches worth about ₹3 crore in two bags… Their activities were caught by the CCTV camera and they indicate that the thieves were familiar with the surroundings and also with the counters where expensive merchandise was kept.”

The watches that the gang decamped with include those of expensive brands such as Rado, Versace, Tissot, Longines, Seiko, Movado and Titan, among others, Gupta said.

Police formed 10 teams to investigate the case.

“During investigation, we came to know that the gang first covered the outside portion of the showroom with some cloth. Thereafter, they sneaked inside. We are trying to identify which gangs have a similar modus operandi. We are also scanning footage form different CCTV cameras in the area to track their movement before they arrived at the showroom and also the route they took to flee after the theft,” the DCP said.