A security guard in Gurugram, Jai Pratap Singh (40), was arrested for allegedly stealing Rs50 lakh in cash from a liquor shop where he was employed. Singh reportedly told investigators he intended to use the money to set up a fruit orchard in Himachal Pradesh.
Police recovered Rs49.5 lakh from the boot of Singh’s Maruti S-Presso parked at a Delhi parking lot, while he spent Rs50,000 during the six days he was absconding.
Singh, a resident of Belahar village in Mainpuri, Uttar Pradesh, had worked as a personal security officer (PSO) with Discovery Wine Group for the past 10 years. He was apprehended by the Gurugram Police’s crime branch from Sector 56 on Tuesday.
The incident took place on December 10, when Singh was entrusted with transporting Rs50 lakh from the liquor shop to Delhi. Instead of delivering the cash, he switched off his phone upon reaching Delhi and fled. To avoid detection, Singh parked his car near Batra Hospital at an MCD parking lot and hid the money in the boot before travelling to Haridwar and Rishikesh, discarding his mobile phone along the way.
Singh later attempted to return to his village but avoided home due to fear of arrest, eventually coming back to Gurugram where he was apprehended.
Inspector Narender Sharma of the crime branch Sector 43 said the operation was based on technical surveillance and human intelligence. “The accused deliberately switched off his phone and tried to mislead the investigation by travelling to multiple locations. We recovered Rs49.5 lakh in cash from his car. He admitted to spending Rs50,000 on travel and personal expenses,” Sharma said.
A case under Section 316(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was registered at Sector 56 police station on December 11. Further investigations are underway to determine if Singh acted alone or had accomplices, led by Assistant Sub-Inspector Devender Singh.
