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A ‘Special 26’-style heist in Gurgaon as gunmen posing as auditors loot finance office

The incident recalls previous high-profile robberies in India where criminals disguised themselves as government officials to gain access.

The incident happened at a Manappuram Finance office in Sector 5, GurgaonThe incident happened at a Manappuram Finance office in Sector 5, Gurgaon.

Around 6 pm on Saturday, three men, one carrying a firearm, entered a Manappuram Finance office in Sector 5, off Sheetla Mata Road, claiming to be auditors. Within minutes, they brandished the weapon, assaulted two employees and fled with Rs 9 lakh in cash and gold, the police said.

“They entered the company office on Sheetla Mata Road, posing as auditors and showing a fake auditor ID to the security guard. One of the individuals was armed. The suspects brandished the weapon, robbed the office, and assaulted two employees, including assistant manager Krishna, with the butt of the gun, causing minor injuries,” a police spokesperson said Saturday night.

The office, which offers loans against gold, confirmed that the stolen cash and gold were insured. Police teams from the Sector 5 station and other units remained at the scene late into the night, conducting investigations. Further details were not immediately available.

The incident recalls previous high-profile robberies in India where criminals disguised themselves as government officials to gain access. In 2017, Delhi police arrested three suspected members of the Neeraj Bawania gang after they allegedly posed as CBI officers and attempted to rob a jeweller’s home in Karol Bagh, an operation inspired by the Bollywood film Special 26. In that case, the suspects, one dressed in a khaki uniform, held the family at gunpoint before fleeing when a resident raised an alarm.

In 2023, a dacoity gang in Hyderabad carried out a similar heist, posing as Income Tax officers and stealing gold worth Rs 60 lakh from a jewellery manufacturer in Secunderabad. That robbery, also modelled after Special 26, involved suspects showing fake ID cards, seizing workers’ phones and locking them in a room before escaping with 17 gold coins.

Police in Gurgaon said they are examining whether Saturday’s heist bears similarities to those earlier cases.

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