Woman, 2 teens pose as kin of boutique owner, tie up guard and flee with 2cr bridal outfits

New Delhi: In the dead of night, when the city's upscale boutiques had their shutters down, a group of thieves pulled off a daring heist at one of them in south Delhi on March 1, making off with designer bridal outfits and other valuables worth over Rs 2 crore.
The theft left behind a trail of cryptic clues, setting the stage for a thrilling game of cat and mouse between the thieves and south Delhi police. What initially seemed like a perfect crime was actually a web of deceit, greed and cunning, as the investigation revealed.
That night, the guard at the well known south Delhi boutique, located at a farmhouse on Mandi Road in Fatehpur Beri, had three unexpected visitors — a woman and two teenagers. The woman, posing as a relative of the owner, gained the guard's trust, only to have her accomplices overpower and restrain him later. After tying up the guard, they ransacked the showroom, making off with over 50 exquisite bridal outfits, electronics and other valuables.
The guard somehow managed to free himself later and alerted police. Led by DCP II (south) Achin Garg and inspector Rajesh Sharma, a police team worked on multiple angles to track down the culprits. They scoured the streets, analysed CCTV footage, and followed a trail of cryptic clues.
A breakthrough came when the team noticed a suspicious van with a cello-taped numberplate in the footage. Further investigation revealed that the van's owner had lent it to a friend, who was none other than one of the accused.
In a clever but ultimately futile attempt to evade detection, the thieves stole the DVR of the store CCTV to destroy evidence of their break-in. They also created a duplicate key to gain unauthorised access to the premises. "To conceal the vehicle's identity, they used cello tape to temporarily obscure the licence plate. But in a crucial mistake, they inadvertently revealed the name ‘Raj', providing a vital lead for investigators," Garg said.
The vehicle was eventually tracked to Manglapuri, where its last movement was recorded, and after an extensive search, the van was found parked in a street in the Manglapuri/Sultanpur area.
As the net closed in, police apprehended two juveniles, one of them a former employee of the boutique, and their woman accomplice. The mastermind was allegedly a disgruntled former sales boy, one of the juveniles. He had given the owners a forged Aadhaar card showing himself as a major.
"Police have recovered 32 bridal lehengas, 105 dupattas and sarees, LED screens, expensive paintings, and a Lord Vishnu idol. The total value of the recovered items exceeded Rs 2 crore," the DCP said.