On the night of November 17, Amit Verma, 35, who had been working at a jewelry store in Chandni Chowk for 10 years, asked his wife and daughters to switch off their phones. The next morning, as per CCTV footage, he was at Kanha Jewellers asking its owner Pankaj Goyal for some articles — 110 rings and 30 necklaces cumulatively weighing 1.08 kg. Since exchange of jewellery is common among jewellers of Chandni Chowk, Goyal did not suspect anything.
“However, Verma fled with the items,” said DCP (North) Raja Banthia, adding, that the accused was arrested on November 23 with the stolen items worth Rs 1 crore.
According to police, Verma had been allegedly planning the theft for months. “He had incurred a loan of Rs 80 lakh from multiple lenders and was under pressure to repay. That’s when he started to consider a theft at the store he worked at,” a police officer said.
According to police, since his employer used to send him to fetch jewellery from nearby shops, he thought it was the easiest way to get his hands on some expensive pieces and flee. “He knew a day before that, an important customer was going to visit the shop. He was already told by the owner that he had to go to Kanha Jewellers on November 18 to get some samples to show the customer,” an officer said.
CCTV footage showed Verma, after fleeing with the stolen articles, boarding an auto from Chandni Chowk and getting off at Azad Nagar, police said. “He entered a house in the East Azad Nagar area. The resident was his friend. When the resident was questioned, he said Verma had come to his room on the day of the incident after committing the offence and left the same day after separating jewellery from the boxes,” said Banthia.
The accused was constantly on the move, hiding in Haridwar and Saharanpur, to avoid being traced. “Multiple addresses were identified in his CDR, but no concrete leads emerged,” the DCP said.
Meanwhile, Verma asked a friend in UP’s Farrukhabad to arrange for the sale of the stolen jewels, police said. However, before leaving, he called his friend in East Azad Nagar. The friend, in turn, informed the police.
“Two officers stood in plain clothes on the evening of November 23 at ISBT and a trap was laid. Verma was apprehended, and the gold articles with a net weight of 913 grams were recovered from his possession,” said DCP Banthia.
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