Dehradun, 9 Nov: On the day when the administrative machinery and the State Police were busy ensuring proper arrangements for the celebration of State Formation Day, today, and engaged in VVIP duties, and when President Droupadi Murmu was also in town, armed dacoits looted a Reliance Jewellery Showroom on Rajpur Road in broad daylight. This showroom is located very close to the State Secretariat and on one of the busiest roads of the city. The Dhara Police Chowki is also not far from the location of the dacoity.
As per sources, jewellery worth Rs Fifteen crores has been robbed. This is stated to be the biggest ever robbery in Uttarakhand.
The Police in its preliminary investigation seem to be narrowing to the conclusion that the robbery has been conducted by a gang of professional robbers from Bihar, which has targeted various Reliance Jewellery Showrooms across several states in the recent past. It may be noted that tomorrow being the festival of Dhanteras, most jewellers stock their showrooms to the maximum possible extent in the hope of making a large sale.
Armed robbers looted the Reliance Jewellers showroom in broad daylight today creating a stir in the state capital. The Rajpur Road area is considered to be among the safest places in the city.
According to preliminary information, five persons entered the Reliance Jewellers showroom at Rajpur Road and, at gunpoint, held the entire staff of the showroom hostage, looted the showroom and escaped with the booty worth crores of rupees.
It is believed that the robbers took advantage of the heavy police deployment on VVIP duty. Sources claim that the crime appeared to be very well planned much in advance and executed with precision. The police have launched an investigation and are also scanning CCTV cameras around the incident site.
The Police admitted that gold, silver and diamond ornaments and gems were looted by the robbers. The incident occurred soon after the showroom opened for the day as the customers had not started arriving by then. Gun-wielding robbers threatened the staff before committing the robbery. Regarding this incident, Dehradun SSP Ajai Singh has conceded this incident as a challenge for the Doon Police and claimed that the miscreants would soon be arrested. Meanwhile, as the initial investigation progressed in the case through the day, certain inputs were available indicating involvement of a highly professional gang of robbers from Bihar in the crime. This gang is believed to be involved in several robberies at Reliance Jewellery showrooms in various states like Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Haryana. Several separate teams have been formed by the Senior Superintendent of Police, Dehradun, to unveil the incident. The preliminary investigation has begun, and four separate teams formed under the leadership of jurisdictional level officers for surveillance, CCTV and information related to the incident and for questioning the witnesses. Information is being gathered regarding similar incidents that have happened in the recent past and the latest status of the gangs that have come to light.
