Gang of 14 targets jewellery shop in Loni, flee with items worth ₹50 lakh

The theft was caught on a nearby CCTV camera and the footage showed a group of men, armed with iron rods,breaking open the locks of the shop and forcing their way in

In a daring robbery, a gang of about 14 unidentified men broke into a jewellery shop in Ram Vihar market area in Loni early Wednesday and fled with jewellery items worth about ₹50 lakh from the premises, police said on Thursday.

A screen grab of the CCTV footage of the gang breaking open the shutter of the jewellery shop in Loni’s Ram Vihar market. (HT Photo)

The incident took place at the shop of jeweller Sonu Verma, a resident of Uttaranchal Colony, in Loni under jurisdiction of Loni Border police station, senior officers said.

The theft was caught on a nearby CCTV camera and the footage showed a group of men, armed with iron rods,breaking open the locks of the shop and forcing their way in.

The CCTV recording showed that suspects were wearing winter jackets and caps, and some of them had covered their faces with ski masks and skull masks. After pulling up the shutter of Verma’s shop halfway, they went inside, pulled out boxes of jewellery and fled the spot.

“Around 3.30am, 15-20 people broke open the shutter of the shop and fled with jewellery and other items worth ₹50-60 lakh from my shop. The police took away the CCTV recording and said they are investigating the case,” said Verma, the owner of the jewellery shop.

The police officials said that some of the suspects also kept watch in nearby lanes while others were busy breaking the locks of Verma’s shop.

The police said that the incident happened between 3-4am and an FIR under Indian Penal Code section for theft was registered against unidentified men.Six teams have been formed to trace the suspects, police said.

“Police patrolling was active in the area and a police control room van took a round of the area around 3.23am just before the incident. We estimate that about 13 to 15 men fled with jewellery items kept in the counter of the shop. The victim initially told us that the valuation was about ₹15-16 lakh. We have initiated investigation and got some vital leads. It is suspected that the gang could have come from areas nearby Delhi,” said Vivek Chandra Yadav, deputy commissioner of police (rural).