Criminals hold security guards hostage, decamp with valuables from construction site

GREATER NOIDA: A group of criminals stole copper wires worth several lakhs from an under-construction site after holding two security guards hostage at gunpoint in Kasna area of Greater Noida on Saturday night. The theft took place at Beta Plaza, an under-construction mall, in Sector Beta I.

Ankur Mittal, the site owner, said that the construction of six-storey building is nearing completion. He had hired two security guards from a private company three months ago.

On the intervening night of Saturday-Sunday at 1:58am, site manager Brajesh Singh received a call from one of the security guards informing that some criminals have attacked the premises. "The criminals have dumped us after tying our hands on our back," the security guard said on phone.

The manager immediately dialed the site supervisor's number, but failed to connect. He then informed the owner and reached the spot. The officials found the two security guards' hands tied on their back. Their legs were also tied and they were lying on the floor.

Soon around 20-30 workers gathered at the spot after receiving information. They inspected the site and found copper wires worth Rs 7.5 lakh missing from the warehouse. The investigation revealed that the CCTV camera wires of the warehouse were snapped at around 12:52am. The camera was moved in another direction to evade identification of suspects.

The two security guards soon fled the spot and also switched off their mobile phones. Goyal said that he suspects the involvement of security guards in the theft as how one of them managed to call the site manager when his hands were tied on his back. "We have serious doubt on them. They are also not cooperating in the investigation," he said.

Jitendra Kumar, SHO Kasna police station, said that a police team visited the spot and took footage of CCTV cameras of other areas for investigation. "Investigation revealed 6-7 criminals in two cars had visited the construction site and decamped with valuables. Police have registered a case and investigating the matter. We are interrogating two security guards to know how the incident took place. We will take action against them if they are found involved in the crime," he said.