Tribune News Servic

Ludhiana, February 23

The Ludhiana police claimed to have solved a major theft case and arrested an accountant of a jewellery showroom, ‘PC Jewellers’, located on Rani Jhansi Road in the city. The police recovered gold, silver and diamond ornaments worth Rs 75 lakh from the suspect.

Friends refused to be part of crime

“Deepak Bansal, the suspect, wanted to settle in Nepal. He reached that country via UP. Later, he called his friend in Ludhiana, to whom he had given the jewellery, and told him to sell the same and sent the money to him in Nepal. He had also offered his friend to keep a few lakhs of rupees from the amount which he would get after selling the ornaments. But he refused to be a part of the crime. The suspect also tried to convince other friends but everyone refused his offer flatly,” CP Mandeep Singh Sidhu said.

He has been identified as Deepak Bansal of Rajesh Nagar, Haibowal.

Commissioner of Police (CP) Mandeep Singh Sidhu, DCP Harmeet Hundal, ADCP Rupinder Kaur Sran and other police officials addressed a press conference in this regard.

Sidhu said on February 15, an accountant working with the jewellers, Deepak, had stolen ornaments worth Rs 75 lakh from the showroom. After committing the crime, he kept a bag containing the ornaments in the house of his friend on the Dhandra road and left the city for Nepal.

“The suspect wanted to settle in Nepal. He reached that country via UP. Later, Deepak called his friend, to whom he had given the jewellery, and told him to sell the same and sent the money to him in Nepal. He had also offered his friend to keep a few lakhs of rupees from the amount which he would get after selling the ornaments but he refused to be a part of the crime,” Sidhu said.

He said the suspect had also tried to convince some of his other friends but everyone refused his offer flatly. Later, Deepak returned to India from Nepal to collect the ornaments.

On Wednesday, he collected the bag and was on the way to sell the ornaments. However, the police had already laid a trap and nabbed the suspect, the CP said.

He said the police would honour the friends of the suspect who had refused to become the part of the crime.

CP refuses cash rewards offered by jeweller

The manager of the jewellery showroom met CP Mandeep Singh Sidhu and thanked the police for solving the major theft of ornaments within eight days of the crime. He expressed desire to give a cash reward to the police team which had solved the case and recovered all stolen ornaments. But the top cop refused the reward by saying that it was the duty of the police to solve the crime and catch criminals, hence, the police need no such rewards, only appreciation matters to them.