Valuables worth ₹15 lakh stolen from retired army officer’s bungalow in Sector 23

Police booked unidentified suspects for allegedly stealing valuables worth more than ₹15 lakh, including two 100-year-old Rolex watches, from the bungalow of a retired lieutenant general of the Indian Army in Sector 23, Palam Vihar on Thursday. The retired officer, HS Bedi (84), and his family left for Delhi on Tuesday and returned about 1pm on Thursday to find the house ransacked, police said.

The suspects removed a window at the back of the bungalow to gain entry into the house. Cops are yet to make arrests in the case. Bedi alleged that the stolen items include ₹4.5 lakh in cash, silver utensils worth ₹4 lakh, gold jewellery worth ₹2.5 lakh, diamond earrings worth ₹2 lakh, and the two watches worth ₹2 lakh. “The Rolex watches belonged to my grandfather and were more than 100 years old,” he said. “My family and I left for a five-star hotel in Dwarka on Tuesday to celebrate my birthday. My son returned to the house on Wednesday afternoon to pick up his laptop for work. Everything was fine then,” he said.

According to Bedi, the theft took place between Wednesday night and 5am on Thursday. “Unknown men were seen leaving our locality on Thursday morning in footage captured on my neighbour’s CCTV camera,” Bedi added. He believes the thieves substantial time to break open seven steel almirahs and their lockers, along with a couple of wooden cupboards. “They opened every bag, purse and envelope to search for valuables,” he added. Bedi’s immediate neighbour is abroad and his other neighbour is a senior citizen, suffering from several age-related problems due to which none heard anything untoward.

Based on Bedi’s complaint, an FIR against unidentified suspects was registered under sections 380 (theft in dwelling house) and 457 (lurking house-trespass or house-breaking by night) of the Indian Penal Code at Palam Vihar police station on Thursday night. Police said that forensic experts were called to collect fingerprint samples cops also obtained the footage from the neighbour’s CCTV camera. Subhash Boken, public relations officer, Gurugram police, said police are trying to identify the suspects and arrest them.