5 arrested for taking away jewels from shop by posing as CBI officials

Police recovered five fake identity cards of the CBI and seven mobile phones that the suspects used in the crimes, along with three gold chains, which they allegedly stole from an employee of a jewellery shop in Karol Bagh on June 27.

Five people were arrested for their alleged involvement in at least three cheating cases in which they impersonated officials of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and stole gold and cash from victims in Karol Bagh between March and June, said police on Sunday.

"All five belong to a family, which had migrated from Iran to India decades ago and settled in a residential area near Bhopal railway station in Madhya Pradesh," Deputy commissioner of police (central) Jasmeet Singh said. (Representational image )

Police recovered five fake identity cards of the CBI and seven mobile phones that the suspects used in the crimes, along with three gold chains, which they allegedly stole from an employee of a jewellery shop in Karol Bagh on June 27.

Deputy commissioner of police (central) Jasmeet Singh, “All five belong to a family, which had migrated from Iran to India decades ago and settled in a residential area near Bhopal railway station in Madhya Pradesh . The locality is known as Irani Mohalla and hence, the syndicate is known as ‘Irani gang’.”

The arrested men were identified as Mohammad Ali alias Sabir Hussain (52), his brother Anwar Ali (45), their cousin Shoukat Ali Jafri (55), brother-in-law Mohammad Kabil (45) and their nephew Mukhtiyar Hussain (35). “Sabir is the kingpin of the gang and impersonated a senior CBI officer during the crimes. The other members posed as Sabir’s subordinates in the CBI,” said the DCP.

Elaborating on the gang’s modus operandi, Singh said the suspects first identified the main jewellery markets in various states, collected information about suppliers and agents and then targeted them. They identified themselves as CBI officers and stole cash or gold on the pretext of checking the bags of the victims for unaccounted money, foreign currency, firearms or drugs, said police.

On June 27, the Karol Bagh police received a call that four to five men, who claimed to be from the CBI, stole 300 grams of gold chains from the employee of a jewellery showroom . The employee told police that the suspects stopped him to check his bag and took away the gold chains. A case was registered and during investigation, police learnt that two similar cases of cheating, where the victims were duped of ₹12.5 lakh and ₹2 lakh, were reported from Karol Bagh in March and May.

“The investigating team scanned CCTV cameras from Karol Bagh market to Hanuman Chambery on Pusa Road, covering nearly 1km stretch. Five men were seen following the jeweller’s employee. They were identified as members of the Irani gang from Bhopal,” said Singh.

A police team visited Bhopal’s Irani Mohalla but the suspects were found missing. Investigators collected data of passengers travelling between Delhi and Bhopal via train and found that the suspects travelled to Delhi on June 26 and returned on June 30. It was further learnt that they would be travelling to Allahabad from Bhopal on August 1 in a train. “Our team searched the train at Jhansi railway station in Uttar Pradesh, caught all the five suspects and brought them to Delhi,” said the DCP.

“They have been found to be involved in over 25 such crimes in Delhi, UP and West Bengal. They were declared proclaimed offenders in more than 10 cases,” added Singh.