However, CCTV footage of the Metro stations from where the victim, Mangilal boarded, changed and finally got off gave away the identity of the accused woman. The accused has been identified as Pooja (33).
The incident was reported on May 23, when a Chandni Chowk-based commission agent, Mangilal Soni, boarded the Metro train from Chandni Chowk station to go to Dwarka to show polka jewellery to a few clients.
He was carrying five sets of polka diamond jewellery worth Rs 25 lakh in a plastic box kept in a bag. Carrying the bag on his shoulder, he got down at Rajiv Chowk to head towards the Blue Line, Dwarka. While heading towards the Blue Line platform, he noticed that the zip of the bag was open and the jewellery box missing.
The next day, he filed an online FIR at the Kashmere Gate Metro police station.
In a bid to establish the sequence of events, police scanned through the CCTV footage of Chandni Chowk, Chawri Bazaar and Rajiv Chowk Metro stations where they saw the woman taking out the jewellery box and hiding it inside her clothes. Further surveillance which assessed the movements of the woman led the cops to the CCTV footage of the New Delhi Metro station in which they saw her exiting with the box from the New Delhi Metro station.
Several teams were formed to crack the case. On June 7, based on local intelligence, the police got to know that the woman will be coming to Pul Bangash station to commit thefts. The cops laid a trap outside the Metro station and arrested her.
After sustained interrogation, Pooja admitted to the crime. She informed the police that because of her husband being an abusive alcoholic, she was burdened with the upbringing of their two children due to which she took to committing thefts at Metro stations. She told the police that she hid the jewellery box at the house of a distant relative in Punjabi basti after committing the theft.
Further investigation revealed that in 2002 as well as 2015, cases of theft have been registered against Pooja at Chandni Chowk and Kashmere Gate Metro police stations respectively.
According to the data of the Delhi Metro police, there has been a tremendous rise in cases of theft. In 2013, a total 855 cases of theft were registered and in 2014, a total of 2173 cases were registered. In 2015 till November 22, 2768 cases have been registered with the Metro police.