Delhi:Two goldsmiths among 4 held for stabbing and looting 4kg gold worth ₹2 crore from Karol Bagh jeweller

Five days after a jeweller from Karol Bagh was stabbed and robbed of four kilograms of gold ornaments, worth around ₹2 crore, the police on Monday said they have

Five days after a jeweller from Karol Bagh was stabbed and robbed of four kilograms of gold ornaments, worth around ₹2 crore, the police on Monday said they have arrested four persons, including two goldsmiths known to the jeweller, for allegedly planning and executing the armed robbery.

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The suspects had melted the stolen gold and made gold rods, which they had distributed among themselves. Nearly 1.9 kilos of gold rods have been recovered while two more suspects are on the run with the remaining gold, the police said.

On December 9, the jeweller, Champak Gayana, was travelling towards Anand Vihar bus terminal in an auto-rickshaw with his employee, Saurabh (single name), when the suspects waylaid them on the busy Vikas Marg near Laxmi Nagar and tried to snatch the bag at gunpoint. When the jeweller held on, one of the suspects stabbed him multiple times in his thigh and fled with the bag, said additional commissioner of police (crime) Shibesh Singh.

A case was registered at the Shakarpur police station and multiple teams were formed to the crack the case, even as news of the robbery created panic in the neighbourhood.

During the probe, the crime branch team collected information about gangs that operated on a similar modus operandi. The team scanned the footage from CCTV cameras and also activated their informant network.

“A CCTV camera footage from where the Gayana and Saurabh had left showed two suspects following them on a motorcycle. Our efforts to trace the motorcycle and the riders led us to a gang led by Mukesh alias Golu and we came to know that they were behind the crime,” said deputy commissioner of police (crime) Bhisham Singh.

Golu and his associate Pradeep Bajaj alias Toni were caught from central Delhi on Sunday night. Their interrogation led to the arrest of the two goldsmiths -- Prashanto Santra and Uttam Dagur -- and recovery of 1.9 kilos of the stolen gold, said Singh.

During their interrogation, the additional CP said, the four men disclosed that they had planned the robbery four months ago from a hotel in Paharganj. The two arrested goldsmiths knew the jeweller and had passed on the information to Golu and his gang members about the movement of 4 kilos of gold ornaments to Moradabad.

Police said Golu was previously involved in 11 cases of robbery and snatching, registered in Delhi and Goa. He was last arrested in Goa and came out of jail in March this year. “Golu returned to Delhi, formed a new gang and executed the robbery with the help of the two goldsmiths. We are now looking for the absconding suspects,” said DCP Singh.