Greed and stupidity trips jewel thieves

Sanjay, a car thief who sometime ago spent two years in prison, and accomplice Yaseem had looted a zonal distributor of Nakshatra, Sangini and Asmi on Feb 8.

Two small-time thieves hit it rich by chance — but landed in jail within a couple of weeks, as they didn’t know how to handle the booty. They had laid their hands on a loot worth Rs 2 crore — including diamond and gold jewellery worth Rs 1.5 crore.

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Police said Sanjay, a car thief who sometime ago spent two years in prison, and accomplice Yaseem had looted a zonal distributor of Nakshatra, Sangini and Asmi on the night of February 8. The distributor, Shashi Kant Mishra, caught their attention on the streets of east Delhi’s Kalyan Puri. Mishra had got off his car for a few minutes to relieve himself. “The two stabbed and robbed him. Then they drove away in his car,” said Satyendra Garg, Addl CP, Crime Branch. The two would have settled for anything more than Rs 400. Instead, they found a bagful of jewellery in the car. They sold off a portion, worth about Rs 50 lakh — for just Rs 1 lakh.

“Next day they read in newspapers the worth of the loot and felt cheated. They didn’t sell the remaining jewellery,” said an officer. They divided the booty and started looking for a better deal. What they didn’t know was that the police were closing in. On Tuesday, both were arrested.