KARTAVYA : Duty with dedication

 Kartavya : Duty with dedication

Foray of Burglary in Jeweller’s Shop

      What would be the condition of a person whose lifetime hard earned money is robbed overnight? By targeting a jeweller’s shop, the witty robbers looted ornaments worth 45 lakh rupees, thereby creating a big commotion.

       A mere remembrance of this incident that occurred on 25th March 2022, gives goosebumps to the owner of a jewellery shop located at a village of Bayad taluka.

       Rahul was running a jewellery shop for years in this village. His residence was just above the shop. His business was also faring very well. On the evening of March 24, as per the routine the gold and silver ornaments were stored in their appropriate place. 

        On the morning of March 25, seeing the condition of the entrance door of his shop, he felt the earth slide under his feet. The iron grate lock was dangling in a broken state and there was a gaping hole in the inner wooden door. On entering the shop Rahul almost fainted. All the items inside the shop were scattered and all the gold and silver ornaments with cash inside were missing. A tender-hearted person might not have been able to bear this brutal shock.

          The robbers had struck during the night and conducted a rifle of ornaments worth 45 lakh rupees. The robbers had looted lifetime earnings. This incident was one of the biggest thefts conducted in Aravalli district so far. In no time the whole village gathered at the shop and the Bayad police too was informed about the incident. 

Police reached the site immediately and commenced the investigation. Right from the breaking of the lock to the hacking of the wooden door, the police minutely studied the details.

On discussing the case with the police, the police inspector informed that, “Each gang has its own unique modus operandi. Most of the gangs are identified by their style of burglary and lockpicking. Some gangs aim for closed shops only, while certain gangs strike on the closed houses. Others target homes where elderly people live their solitary life.”

          From the way in which the theft was carried out at the jewellery shop, it was assumed that the robbers had expertise in carrying out these types of theft. They had left no evidence in the shop. This case turned out to be a challenging task for the police.

          The print and electronic media were covering this incident continuously. There was an overwhelming pressure to solve the case. In such tense situation, the task of investigating in the right direction with calm mind was a bit difficult. After perusal of the whole case, the Chief of the police giving solace to the Jewellery shop owner Mr. Rahul said that, “No matter wherever the robbers maybe in the world, the police will definitely nab them.” Rahul became hopeful after receiving assurance from the District Police chief.

The police formed various teams and proceeded to solve the case. L.C.B. PI C. P. Vaghela and his team instigated. First, they acquired the CCTV footage of the shop in which the robbers were seen stealing fearlessly. The police team meticulously studied the CCTV footages of all the shops in Demai Bazaar. Footages from nearby toll plaza were also obtained. Upon analysing all the footages, the movement of a car seemed suspicious.

         Now the police also have access to advanced technical equipment. Through the technical sources, police fetched the details of all the suspects present in the area at the time of robbery. Delving deep into the matter, one person was found to be suspicious. This person had a criminal past record. The police focused on him. By getting information from various places in the state, one person’s identity got confirmed. Now it was challenging to find the name and address of that person. However, due to long experience the police succeeded in getting the address details. Based on his experience, PI Vaghela dispatched a team to Madhya Pradesh in search of that suspect.

         It’s really very difficult to go into the stronghold of criminals in unknown territory and make the operation successful. The intention of the police officers was lofty. The police were set to solve the case at any cost to set a precedent.

The village of Madhya Pradesh the address led to was very notorious. The support provided by the local police was not to the expectation. There had also been instances of fatal attacks on the police in past from this village. Hence, the operation had to be managed very tactfully.

            The officers that went there had developed rapport with the locals over there. Nobody realized that those were police officers. They were puzzled about how to reach the criminal’s house in that notorious village. Directly approaching the house of the accused could make him escape causing danger to everyone’s life.

The police devised a brilliant trick and entered the village posing as personnels of Electricity Board. They visited various nooks and corners of the village and observed them in depth. They reached to the house of the main accused and carefully made a thorough observation. They succeeded in obtaining valuable information from the locals. The culprit and his house were identified. Having reached there they just had to nab him and bring him to Aravalli, but the task was not as simple as it sounded, as the village was full of dreaded criminals.

            If the village men got the slightest hint that these were police officers, then they would mount a brutal attack on them. So, each step had to be taken carefully. The police again cunningly proceeded towards the culprit’s house, this time posing as LIC agents and on finding an opportune moment, picked up the culprit. The brave police officers staked their lives and brilliantly conducted the operation without raising any suspicion towards them in the village. Police Inspector C. P. Vaghela and his team conducted this high voltage operation successfully.

           The culprit was now in the custody of the police. The moment police started their 3rd degree treatment, he started parroting out all the details. He thoroughly told them about the modus operandi of the robbery of ornaments. Some of the stolen ornaments were sold to the local goldsmith. The goldsmith seeking a convenient moment had run away. The remaining ornaments and cash were confiscated. An amount of around Rs 11 lakh was seized. The other accused had absconded.

            Discussing regarding the challenges faced in this operation, the District Police chief said that, “This is the popular method of interstate theft or new cybercrimes. Being interstate accused, there are several limitations faced by the police in nabbing them. Also, sometimes they don’t get proper support from the local authorities and public to reach to the accused. The gangs take advantage of it. Such gangs are active on large scale, in areas like Nimay, Jambua, Alirajpur, Dhar bordering areas around Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan. They target interstate areas ranging from Mumbai to Jaipur. The safety of the police team is of prime importance. There have been instances of police party from other states being attacked in the past. It is also very difficult to reach the criminal by joining small and insufficient links. In which the police succeed.”

            The district police had set an excellent example of solving the case by going into another state and putting their lives at risk.

Translated into English by Shri Pallavi Gupta🌷