Mall theft on Holi eve

Burglars breached the three-tier security of Shipra Mall and managed to strike at Shopper’s Stop, one of the four anchor stores of Shipra Mall, at Indirapuram, Ghaziabad. They escaped with designer jewellery worth about Rs 1 crore on Tuesday night.

Burglars breached the three-tier security of Shipra Mall and managed to strike at Shopper’s Stop — one of the four anchor stores of Shipra Mall — at Indirapuram, Ghaziabad. They escaped with designer jewellery worth about Rs 1 crore on Tuesday night.

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The store management said the valuation that continued till late Thursday evening may run into crores.

Neither the CCTV cameras installed inside the mall nor the security men managed to spot the burglars. Police said there were no CCTV cameras inside the store.

The burglary took place Tuesday night after the mall closed for the day. “Burglars sneaked inside the store and managed to get the security keys. With the help of the four keys, they broke into various counters of reputed brands like Gilli, Sparkles, Nirvana and Singus, and escaped with gold and diamond jewellery worth almost Rs 1 crore,” SSP Akhil Kumar said.

Police were called on Wednesday afternoon when the mall opened and the staff noticed broken glass and missing jewellery.

The management suspects it to be the work of an insider or of a former employee. “The burglars might have stayed back
inside the mall on Tuesday and escaped through the back gate of the mall which has no CCTV cameras. They knew where the keys were kept and the escape route. Our valuation is on,” said Nagendra Singh, Area Controller of Shopper’s Stop. He said all the valuables were insured.

SSP Akhil Kumar said hundreds of fingerprints in the store, both of the staff and customers, was making their job difficult. “We have started taking fingerprints of employees and are looking through profiles of former employees,” he said. Forensic experts and police dog squads have also proved to be of no use. Police have sealed the store till further notice. The mall's management could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.

Shipra Mall, one of the best malls in the NCR, is spread over an area of 4.5 lakh sq. feet. With classical Roman architecture, it claims to have three-tier security ring, which includes security guards, CCTV cameras and the store’s own-security ring. It has over 65 stores of reputed brands.