Two of gang that burgled watch showroom in Indirapuram arrested, 12 5 watches recovered

In a joint operation, police arrested two suspects from a gang that stole 600 watches worth ₹3 crore from an Indirapuram showroom. 125 watches worth ₹46.36 lakh were recovered.

In a joint operation, teams from the crime branch, the SWAT group and the Indirapuram police arrested two members of a gang that allegedly broke into a watch showroom in Indirapuram on the intervening night of August 10/11 and escaped with about 600 expensive watches worth about ₹3 crore, senior officers said on Thursday.

The two suspects (third and fourth from left) in custody. Police said 125 watches, valued at ₹46 lakh, were recovered. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

The police identified the two suspects as Santosh Kumar Jayaswal and Rohit Kumar Paswan, both hailing from Ghorasahan in Bihar and residing in Sector 63, Noida, and Kapashera border in Delhi, respectively.

Police said they recovered about 125 watches worth about ₹46.36 lakh from the possession of the two suspects.

“After the incident, we formed several teams and arrested the two suspects. During interrogation, they admitted to the crime. As part of the modus operandi, they would first survey their targeted location and would rent rooms nearby. Thereafter, all the members would assemble and switch off their mobile phones a day before the crime. After the crime, they would disperse in small groups and use different transport options to return to Ghorasahan in Bihar,” said Nimish Patil, deputy commissioner of police, trans-Hindon.

Shyam Sundar Gupta, owner of the showroom in Indirapuram, had said, “First, the gang lifted the main shutter with some equipment and then opened the glass door. Two of them went inside, while the rest kept a watch outside. The two collected about 600 expensive watches worth about ₹3 crore in two bags. In about 40 minutes, the two thieves walked out with the bags and all escaped from the spot. Their activities were caught by CCTV cameras and the footage showed that they were familiar with the surroundings and also the counters where expensive watches were kept.”

Police said there were about a dozen members in the gang and teams are still trying to trace them.

Investigators said the gang is known in the criminal circles as “Chadar gang (gang that uses bedsheets to cover the shutters of shops/showroom)”. Police said they would then lift the shutters using specialised equipment and enter shops.

“The members who go in are called ”players” while those who keep a watch outside are called “fielders”. Our teams conducted extensive searches for the gang found cases with a similar modus operandi in Maharashtra, Delhi and other states. we zeroed in on the suspects using local informers,” said an officer from the crime branch, asking not to be named.