Delhi Police today arrested two persons and claimed to have recovered nearly 95 per cent of jewellery worth Rs 4 crore which the duo are alleged to have looted last week.
The accused have been identified as Maqsood (42) and Naseem (26), police said, adding that they were arrested yesterday.
According to police, on April 9, one Rajesh Jain, who is a partner with a jeweller's at Karol Bagh, reported that one Arjun Dass had arrived in Delhi from Jalandhar via Shatabdi Express bearing diamond and gold jewellery.
Dass had hired an autorickshaw outside New Delhi railway station to take him to Bank Street in Karol Bagh for Rs 50. After Dass had got into the auto, its driver allowed another person to board the vehicle. After they had covered some distance, yet another person joined them.
"After reaching Jhandewalan Chowk, they asked him to get down from the auto saying they wanted to go to Filmistan but Dass refused to do so. After reaching his destination, Dass checked his briefcase and found two jewellery boxes missing and one brick left behind in place of a jewellery box.
"The complainant said that the value of the stolen jewellery was Rs 4 crore," said Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime), Ravindra Yadav.
Yesterday, police got a tip-off that the "Bijnaur auto gang" members had committed the theft and were planning go to Nepal with the booty. It was further learnt that the gang members would come by auto via Majnu Ka Tila to board a bus at ISBT.
Thereafter, a trap was laid near Majnu Ka Tila and the duo was apprehended along with the stolen jewellery.
During interrogation, it was found that Maqsood is an expert at stealing valuables from passenger's bags in a moving auto. He uses the assistance of one auto driver Naseem, Saleem and another associate, Manoj alias Kaku, in committing the thefts, police said.
"They target the passengers of Rajdhani/Shatabdi Express who look for cheap autos. Once a passenger sits in their auto, the driver would tactfully get his other gang members into the auto one by one, who are present at hand in the guise of passengers," said Yadav.
They would board the auto and sit in such a way that the belongings of the passenger is hidden from his or her view. Maqsood would then open the suitcase/bag and steal valuables from it. He would also place some object equal in size and weight in the suitcase/bag so that the victim failed to detect the theft, police added.
Efforts are on to nab Saleem and Manoj and to recover the remaining booty, police added.
