Used stolen mobile phone, hopped cities: How man who stole gold worth Rs 13 lakh from associate evaded arrest for over a month

After the July 8 incident, the police first headed to Amritsar as both the accused and the complainant hail from the city.

“The team traced his family in Amritsar and conducted field raids. However, the accused could not be located. Further technical analysis then indicated his presence in a hotel in Jammu. A team was immediately dispatched, but by the time police reached, the accused had fled again,” DCP (Central) Nidhin Valsan said.

Over the course of a month-and-a-half, the accused was changing hotels, and while using the stolen phone of Pradeep Kumar to contact his family on Snapchat, the police said.

Whenever the police would zero in on a hotel, Singh would change cities again, the officer said.

On August 17, Singh was tracked in Aurangabad and arrested following a quick raid. “During questioning, the accused admitted to committing the crime and disclosed that he was under financial distress and greed prompted him to plan the theft,” DCP Valsan said.

A police officer said that Singh allegedly accompanied Pradeep Kumar to the Capital after the latter mentioned a ‘lucrative deal’ he had struck with a Delhi client. Kumar told Singh that he had to carry the consignment to Delhi for the client, police said.

Upon reaching Delhi, the duo checked in in a Paharganj hotel on the night of July 8. Singh spiked Kumar’s dal curry with sleeping pills, the police said.

“Once the complainant fell asleep, he fled with all the gold, cash, and Kumar’s mobile phone. He further disclosed that the stolen gold was hidden with his elder brother Pintu, who lives in Amritsar with the accused in the same house. The stolen gold ornaments weighing 1.290 kg were recovered,” DCP Valsan said.

Following the alleged theft, an FIR was filed after a preliminary inquiry under sections 305 (a) (theft) and 123 (hurt by poison) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.