Ghaziabad: Woman held with parents for theft at her in-laws house

The police procured footage from CCTV cameras in the neighbourhood and found that Deepika’s parents had come near her house on a bike

A 32-year-old woman was arrested for allegedly stealing 40 tolas (approximately 400 grams) of gold and silver jewellery from her in-laws’ house in Ghaziabad, and allegedly conspiring with her parents to portray it as a case of dacoity, police officers said on Saturday, adding that the woman’s parents have also been arrested.

It was claimed that 40 tolas of gold and silver jewellery and ₹3.5 lakh in cash were stolen from the house. (Representational image)

The incident took place in Niwari on April 10. The suspects were identified as Deepika Tyagi, 32, her father Yogendra Tyagi, 60, and her mother Sunita Tyagi, 56. Another man, Akbar Ali, 63, who helped the suspects execute the theft and was paid ₹20,000 for it has also been arrested, said officers.

Investigators said that on April 10, they received information at 1.30pm that there was a break-in at a house in Bhrampuri in Niwari. Unidentified suspects entered the house, sedated Deepika, who was alone in the house, and stole gold and silver jewellery, and cash, before fleeing, said investigators.

When other family members returned home, they found Deepika tied up and freed her. Based on a complaint from the family, a first information report was registered under Indian Penal Code Section 395 (dacoity). The family claimed that 40 tolas of gold and silver jewellery and ₹3.5 lakh in cash were stolen from the house.

“We formed four teams to trace the suspects. On questioning, Deepika began giving contradictory statements. We checked her mobile phone records and came across a number with which she had long-duration calls and some of these were on the day of the incident. We traced the number and it was in someone else’s name but used by her father, Yogendra Tyagi. His location was found barely 700 metres from Deepika’s house on the day of the incident. Yogendra’s call records indicated that he was in regular touch with her and also with Akbar that day,” said Vivek Chandra Yadav, deputy commissioner of police (rural).

The police procured footage from CCTV cameras in the neighbourhood and found that Deepika’s parents had come near her house on a bike and met Akbar before fleeing to their house in Ganganagar, Meerut. When police rounded up Akbar, he broke down and revealed the plot saying that he was hired for ₹20,000 by Deepika’s father to stage a fake robbery, said investigators.

The police said that Deepika and her parents were also picked up and they confessed. Her father had been ill with a heart disease for the past one-and-a-half years and her in-laws even helped him with ₹90,000 during his treatment.

“They revealed that Deepika had stolen her joint family’s jewellery and brought it to her parents’ house one-and-a-half months ago. Later, this jewellery was sold to a jeweller in Meerut for ₹3 lakh. At least ₹1.25 lakh was transferred to Deepika’s sister. To cover up the theft, Deepika’s parents hatched the fake robbery conspiracy. On April 10, Deepika properly ransacked her house and later asked Akbar to tie her up,” DCP Yadav said.

Investigators said that Akbar also hired a man named Mohammad Firoz, 22, who came to Deepika’s house under the impression that Akbar had come there to get some medicines. “When he sensed that something untoward was happening, he backed out and walked away while Akbar went ahead and executed the fake robbery. Firoz is now an approver in the case,” DCP Yadav said.

The four suspects have been booked for theft and criminal conspiracy.