3 arrested over ₹1.4cr gold theft from Noida factory

Dev hid the gold in his clothes and slipped out of the factory. With the help of his friends Vinay and Harish, they sold the gold in Delhi, the SHO shared

Noida: The Noida police on Tuesday arrested three suspects for allegedly stealing about 2kg gold worth ₹1.4 crore from a jewellery factory in Noida’s NSEZ locality on August 3, said officers, adding that they managed to confiscate 788 grams of gold and making efforts to recover the rest that was sold in Delhi.

A manager at the jewellery-making factory in NSEZ, Phase-2 area, stated in his police complaint that on August 1, Dev was tasked to prepare a gold chain weighing around two kg, and two days later Dev escaped with the gold without informing anyone. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

Vindyachal Tiwari, station house officer (SHO), Phase-2, identified the suspects as Devendra Kumar, alias Dev, 33; Vinay alias Bobby -- both residents of Agra, and Harish Yadav, 33, a resident of Meerut.

“Devendra worked at a jewellery factory and Harish is a property dealer and runs his eatery in Meerut,” the officer informed.

“Complainant Pradeep Dubey, 35, a manager at the jewellery-making factory in NSEZ, Phase-2 area, stated in his police complaint that on August 1, Dev was tasked to prepare a gold chain weighing around two kg. On August 3, Dev escaped with the gold without informing anyone. After multiple failed attempts by manager to reach out to Dev, the case was reported at the Phase-2 police station on August 9,” said SHO Tiwari.

“Dev, along with his accomplices, was nabbed from the NSEZ trisection on Tuesday around 12pm with the help of CCTV cameras and electronic surveillance,” the officer added.

Investigation revealed that Dev had somehow managed to slip out gold from tight security. He hid the gold in his clothes and slipped out of the factory. With the help of his friends Vinay and Harish, they sold the gold in Delhi, the SHO shared.

“We have recovered 788 grams of gold and ₹49,000 from their possession. Investigation is underway to recover the remaining 1.2 kg of gold. The suspects revealed that they sold it in Delhi,” the officer said, adding that Dev had been working at the factory for two-and-a-half-years.

A case under section 316 (5) (criminal breach of trust) and 317 (stolen property) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was registered at Phase 2 police station against three suspects.

Dev and Yadav earlier worked together, and they were planning the gold for the past four months. Further investigations are underway, officers said.