Police in Palwal have arrested seven accused, including the mastermind of an inter-state gang, in connection with the robbery of gold and cash from the driver and an employee of a bullion trader. The police recovered Rs 17.5 lakh in cash, 138 grams of gold, two vehicles used in the crime, four fake number plates, four mobile phones, and a motorcycle from their possession. The alleged mastermind had earlier been dismissed from the civil department of the Ministry of Defence.
According to the police, on April 2, criminals posing as officers of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence intercepted the car of a bullion trader near HUDA Chowk on National Highway 10. They robbed the driver, Rajkumar, and an employee, Vijay, of 30 tolas of gold and Rs 31 lakh in cash. The accused also abducted Vijay and later abandoned him in Gurugram.
Following a complaint by trader Vikas Jain, an FIR was registered under relevant sections of the BNS at the city police station. Four teams, including a crime unit, were formed to investigate the case.
Superintendent of Police Nitish Agarwal said that over 250 CCTV cameras across Palwal, Gurugram, Delhi, and nearby areas were scanned. Using cyber technology, CCTV footage, and intelligence inputs, all seven accused were arrested from different locations in Delhi and Faridabad.
During interrogation, the accused revealed that they were involved in organised crime. They conducted reconnaissance before posing as officials using fake IDs and number plates to carry out robberies. The gang had earlier robbed a gutkha trader of Rs 25 lakh in Gwalior and another Rs 5 lakh in Delhi.
The mastermind, Dharmbir alias Sarji alias Fauji (64), is a resident of Silani village in Jhajjar district and currently lives in Faridabad. Other accused include Narender Kumar alias Nitu (42), who runs a clinic; Amit alias Bablu (39); Bijender Kumar alias Kala Pandit alias Topi (44); Laxman alias Kehri (36); Dinesh Kumar (39); and Deepak Samanto (44).
Police said Dharmbir has 26 criminal cases registered against him across Delhi and Haryana, while Bijender has 17 and Dinesh has 11 cases. Amit and Laxman each have four cases against them. Further investigation is under way.
