Gurgaon police probing insider’s role in ₹10-crore gold heist

Gurgaon police is working on the possibility of an insider’s role in Thursday’s heist in which gold worth ₹10 crore was looted from the New Railway Road branch of Manappuram Finance.

The Gurgaon police has got specific clues from the CCTV footages and is confident of establishing the identity of the persons involved in the ₹10 crore gold heist which took place on Thursday. The police believe that the culprits involved in the incident are locals but they could have connections with gangs in the NCR.

Gurgaon, India- February 09: Police officers investigate in Manappuram gold loan branch at new railway road, in Gurgaon, India, on Thursday, 09 February 2017. (Photo by Parveen Kumar/Hindustan Times) (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

The police are working on the possibility of an insider’s role in the heist in which gold worth ₹10 crore and ₹7.08 lakh in cash was looted from the New Railway Road branch of Manappuram Finance. The police are analysing the details of present and ex-employees of the company. The police have also formed a number of teams to investigate the case.

A staff member claimed that one of the gang members, who was drunk, threatened the employees that they would attack the Manappuram branches after every 15 days.

Police sources said the robbers had spent almost half an hour outside the branch before executing the heist. Police investigations have found that the accused also interacted with a vendor and two of the gang members had also visited the branch twice earlier.

During investigations, the police have found that the accused had used a four-wheeler and a two-wheeler and the vehicles were parked a little away from the crime spot.

“The group of men involved have studied the area well before committing the crime and visited the office twice to check the security system and the deployment of guards. It seems that they had planned to execute the heist swiftly without the use of guns as the area is crowded and they could be trapped easily,” said an investigation officer seeking anonymity.

Krishan Kumar, an executive at the branch, who was the first to be held at gunpoint, said the gang leader was aware about the safety systems including the location of the CCTV cameras. “They asked about the DVRs and sprayed the cameras with foam,” he said.

The robbers were also keen on ensuring that no violence was perpetrated and they even argued among each other when one of them attacked two customers. “They did not want to spill blood as it would have attracted people,” Kumar said.

The police are scanning records of mobile phones active in that telecom circle but the officials suspect that the culprits might have used a mobile phone application like WhatsApp or internet telephony application to avoid detection.

Sandeep Khirwar, Gurgaon police commissioner, on Friday said that there are some definite clues on which the different crime teams are working. “Investigation is ongoing and it will not be right to divulge sensitive details,” he said.

“We have got some important clues in our probe. The case will be solved in two to three days,” said inspector Bijender Singh, SHO, Civil Lines.

Assistant commissioner of police Manish Sehgal, Gurgaon police spokesperson, said the police are coordinating with their counterparts in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. “The crime units are working on physical evidence and also sifting through mobile and CCTV camera details to know the actual modus operandi of the criminals,” Sehgal said.