In a major breakthrough, Delhi Police arrested 36-year-old Manoj Dosand, a trusted employee at Vishal Chains, a jewellery showroom in Karol Bagh, after a 3,200-km manhunt that ended in Ooty, Tamil Nadu. Dosand is accused of stealing 4 kilograms of antique gold jewellery from the store where he had worked since 2014.
Police said Dosand developed a serious online gambling addiction during the COVID-19 lockdown. To fund his habit, he began stealing jewellery from the showroom and selling it to local goldsmiths.
When the theft was discovered, an FIR was registered on July 1 at Karol Bagh Police Station. The investigation revealed Dosand had first gone to Agra, where he bought a second-hand mobile phone and abandoned his motorcycle, then boarded a train to Bengaluru.
Police tracked his movements to Chennai, and finally to Ooty, where he was caught in a dawn raid on July 20.
During the arrest, police recovered 100 grams of stolen gold, Rs2.3 lakh in cash, and two mobile phones. Dosand confessed to selling the rest of the gold and using the proceeds to fuel his gambling addiction.
Further investigation is underway to trace the gold sold and determine any accomplices involved.
