A civil contractor, Mantu Mandal (42), was among four men arrested for stealing 70 grams of gold and 20 grams of silver articles valued at Rs7 lakh in Lajpat Nagar, police said on Sunday. The stolen valuables were unknowingly handed over by resident Jitender Singh to a scrap dealer inside an old almirah.
Singh had given an old almirah to Mandal, asking him to sell it to a scrap dealer. However, when the dealer opened a locker inside the almirah, he discovered the gold and silver valuables. The scrap dealer informed both Singh and Mandal and handed the valuables back to Mandal.
Singh requested Mandal to return the valuables, but Mandal decided to keep them and, with the help of three accomplices, fabricated a story claiming two bike-borne policemen abducted him along with the valuables and fled, police said.
Mandu reported the alleged abduction and theft to Govindpuri police in the early hours of Friday. However, investigators grew suspicious because he reported the incident nearly a day after it occurred.
Police reviewed CCTV footage around Mandal’s residence, which showed two men arriving on a motorcycle and leaving with Mandal and the valuables within six minutes. The men were identified as Raj Kumar (39) and Sarfaraz Gaffar (43). Both were arrested and revealed that another man, Mohammad Yusuf alias Raju (38), was involved.
Raju and Mandal were also taken into custody. Raju confessed that he tried to help Mandal sell the gold and silver items through his employer, but the employer refused, police said.
