Special 26-style heist at jewellery shop in Delhi’s Shahdara

PTI, May 10, 2023, 5:35 PM IST

New Delhi: Four men were arrested for allegedly robbing Rs 40 lakh cash and gold from a jewellery shop in east Delhi’s Shahdara by posing as CBI officials after being inspired by the Bollywood movie “Special 26”, police said on Wednesday.

The accused have been identified as Sandeep Bhatnagar, (54), Pawan Gupta, (47), Yogesh Kumar, (58), and Himanshu (35), they said.

Inspired by “Special-26″, accused Bhatnagar, suspected to be the kingpin of the gang, hatched a plan and executed the robbery with the help of his associates, police said.

On April 17, six persons including a woman, posing as CBI officials, entered a jeweller’s shop in Shahdara’s Farsh Bazaar and told the victim that they had information about his involvement in illegal gold business, they said.

The robbers threatened him to pay 1 crore to settle the matter. In fear of action by the agency, the victim paid Rs 40 lakhs cash and gave 500 grams of gold to them. While leaving the shop, they also took away DVRs of the CCTV camera installed inside the shop, police said.

Ravindra Singh Yadav, Special Commissioner of Police (Crime) said after analysing multiple CCTV cameras installed near the scene of the crime, the accused persons were identified and following a raid, four people were arrested from their respective homes. During interrogation, Bhatnagar disclosed that he was deeply influenced by the Bollywood movie and executed the robbery with the help of his associates, he said.

While Bhatnagar posed as a high-ranked CBI official, his associates acted as his subordinates. They wore fake identity cards of the CBI and carried walky-talkies in their hands, Yadav said. ”Surprised by their sudden action, the victim lost his presence of mind and asked about the purpose of the visit, to which it was informed to him that CBI has specific intelligence about illegal business,” he said.

“With the intention of not getting caught by the police, accused persons while leaving the premises took the DVRs of the CCTV cameras installed there along with them,” he added. Of the total amount, Rs 11 lakhs, 104 grams of gold, DVRs and five mobile phones have been recovered from the accused, police said.