Chandigarh: Mauli Jagran family returns from trip to find house burgled, thief held

Police on Sunday arrested a thief who broke into the residence of a local goldsmith in Mauli Jagran and made away with gold and silver ornaments, along with a substantial amount of cash, while the family was away on a trip.

The accused has been identified as Karma, a resident of Mauli Jagran.

The victim, Rakesh Kumar, reported the theft to the police on Saturday after returning home from a family trip to Haridwar and Rishikesh.

According to Kumar’s complaint, he, along with his family, had left for the trip on Friday afternoon after locking the house. However, upon returning at around 7 am the next day, the family found the main gate’s lock and latch broken. Inside the house, they discovered further damage — the lock of a cupboard had been broken, and its contents were scattered across the floor. The family’s locker had also been forcibly opened, and several valuable items, including gold, silver jewellery, and ₹20 lakh cash, were missing.

Among the stolen items were two pairs of gold tops, two pairs of gold earrings, three gold rings with diamonds, two gold rings, two gold chains, one gold chain with a locket, two sets of gold necklaces, one diamond kitty set, one pair of gold bangles, one silver biscuit, two pairs of silver anklets, one pair of silver bandh, and three silver idols of deities, including those of Saraswati, Lakshmi and Ganesh. Kumar mentioned that the burglary appeared to be a meticulously planned act, indicating that the thief had prior knowledge of the household’s valuables.

The incident was reported at the Mauli Jagran police station, where an FIR under Section 305(A) (theft in a dwelling house, or means of transportation or place of worship, etc) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was registered.