Noida: Police have busted a gang allegedly involved in stealing nearly Rs 1.5 crore from a garage in Sector 25 and arrested six people, recovering Rs 1.48 crore and the car used in the crime. The accused were allegedly caught on Tuesday while gathering to divide the stolen cash, police said.The accused — Avnish Kumar, Pawan alias Shivam alias Kancha, Jitendra Kumar, Sumit Kumar, Anil Kumar and Nishu Chauhan — have criminal records, with cases registered against several of them in Noida, Mathura, Hathras and Bulandshahr.Police identified Avnish as the alleged mastermind.Avnish (33), a BSc graduate from Saatha village in Aligarh, had been working with a TPF (Trading Profit Fund) for about a year.DCP Saad Miya Khan said Avnish, along with Ashish, Bharat and Adarsh, was involved in allegedly duping people by taking money from them on the pretext of investing it in the market and promising high returns. Avnish had also given Ashish Rs 46 lakh for investment but was dissatisfied with the returns.A few days before the theft, a person allegedly handed Ashish around Rs 1.5 crore under the same pretext. Ashish kept the cash in his garage, police said.Police said Avnish’s own dissatisfaction coupled with his knowledge of the cash kept in Ashish’s garage prompted him to turn against Ashish. He allegedly planned the theft and roped in the five others.According to police, the accused stole the cash from the garage on Aug 11 and then dispersed, keeping portions of the money with themselves.Following the complaint, Sector 20 police formed three teams to investigate the case. The teams examined CCTV footage from more than 400 cameras along the route of the crime scene to spot the accused’s movement.During the probe, they identified around 20 cars whose registration numbers appeared suspicious. Electronic surveillance and local intelligence were then used to track the suspects.Additional DCP Manisha Singh said the six assembled on Tuesday on the road from Rajnigandha Chowk towards Film City. The police surrounded the location and arrested them. A search led to the recovery of Rs 1.48 crore in cash. During interrogation, the accused allegedly admitted to stealing the money from Ashish’s garage, police said.The other accused include Pawan (28), a Mathura resident who drives Ola-Uber taxis in Delhi-NCR and Mathura; Jitendra (24), from Hathras, who works as a liquor shop salesman; Sumit (22), from Etah, who lives in Phase 2 and has a private job; Anil (22), from Aligarh, who is also a liquor shop salesman; and Nishu Chauhan (29), from Aligarh, who is engaged in farming.ACP Praveen Singh said Pawan has nine cases registered against him in Mathura and Noida, while Anil faces six cases in Hathras and Noida. Jitendra has three cases registered against him in Bulandshahr and Noida. Police are checking the records of the remaining accused.Investigators are also examining Ashish and his associates’ investment business to establish the full nature of their financial dealings. They are also investigating the accused’s communication records following the theft.The police team that cracked the case is expected to be honoured by DCP.
