Braving floods and a boat capsize, Delhi Police nabs two for burglary, recover ₹12 lakh loot

While a family from north-west Delhi was away at native village late last month, to perform the last rites of the head of the household who died of Covid-19, two men broke into their home and made off with ₹10 lakh cash and jewellery. After a harrowing investigation, in which their team braved flood waters and a boat capsize, the Delhi Police on Thursday said they have nabbed the suspects and recovered a part of the loot.

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“A part of the cash and jewellery was recovered from one of the suspect’s house in Maharjganj district of UP and some of it from a water tank atop the house of another suspect in Delhi,” said Vijayanta Arya, deputy commissioner of police (north-west).

Police said the burgled house in Shakurpur in north-west Delhi belonged to 51-year-old Madan Kishore Pathak, an astrologer and a temple priest, who lived with his wife and three children.

Pathak’s son Vedank said, “On May 1, my father was diagnosed with Covid-19. He had kidney ailments as well and died on May 10. On the day we cremated him, my mother, my two older sisters and I were found positive for the virus.”

After remaining in home isolation for a fortnight, the family left for their native village in Ayodhya to perform Pathak’s last rites. “On July 30, my neighbours saw the windowpane of our house broken and lights inside switched on. They alerted me and we returned to Delhi on June 1,” Vedank said.

The family found the house ransacked and ₹10 lakh cash and gold and silver jewellery missing. “The cash was for my father’s kidney transplant and the jewellery was for my sister’s wedding that was scheduled for November,” Vedank said.

When the police began their probe, the CCTV footage showed two suspects ,with their faces covered, walking away from the house. “Later, they uncovered their faces, and this helped us identify them,” a senior investigator said.

“Our probe revealed that the suspects may fled Delhi. One of them, 19-year-old Nageshwar, belonged to Maharajganj district of Uttar Pradesh,” the investigator said.

The police team reached Maharajganj to find the streets under water following heavy rain. “On August 13, the team had to use a boat to ferry their car and themselves from one village to another. But the rain swollen river was difficult to navigate and the boat toppled. The policemen had to swim to safety,” the officer said.

Eventually, the police were able to recover ₹3.1 lakh in cash and some jewellery from Nageshwar’s house. The police were then tipped off about the suspects fleeing to Delhi. “On August 14, we arrested Nageshwar and his 21-year-old accomplice, Mohammad Chand, from Shakur Basti. At their instance, we recovered more cash and jewellery hidden in a water tank atop Chand’s house,” the officer said.

The police have so far been able to recover ₹12.10 lakh in cash – a little more than what was reported stolen – and some jewellery, the officer said.