Bollywood-style heist: Mastermind arrested, 8 kg gold recovered

New Delhi: In a striking resemblance to the plot of popular Bollywood film ‘Special 26’, a real-life heist unfolded in Delhi’s Rani Bagh, where two individuals impersonating CGST officers cheated a jeweller from Punjab’s Ludhiana and escaped with 10 kg of gold worth Rs 6 crore, police said on Tuesday. The mastermind behind the robbery, identified as Sushil Kumar alias Toppi alias Rakesh alias Rajesh Kumar and a resident of Ludhiana, has been apprehended by the Outer District Police.

Delhi Police confirmed the recovery of 8 kg of gold worth Rs 4.8 crore from the possession of Sushil Kumar. However, the two impersonators and the individual who provided information about the jeweller’s location are still at large, officials said.

According to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Outer District, Harendra Singh, the incident came to light when the complainant Ravinder Kumar sent his driver and a worker to Delhi to collect the purchased gold on July 10. As they were travelling back to Ludhiana in an Ertiga car, another car, a white i20 Hyundai, overtook them near Haryana Matri Bhawan, close to West Enclave. Two individuals claiming to be Inspector Satbir Singh and Inspector Ravi Kumar from the Central GST department intercepted them, alleging the presence of unauthorised gold in their vehicle. The impersonators demanded the bills for the 10 gold plates weighing 1 kg each, and the driver contacted Ravinder Kumar through WhatsApp, allowing him to speak with one of the impersonators posing as a Central GST inspector. After verifying the bills, the fake officers took possession of the gold, Singh mentioned.

The following day, Ravinder Kumar visited the office of the Central GST Department in Delhi to inquire about the inspectors and his gold, but all efforts proved futile. Suspicion arose when the driver, Rajan Bawa, who was a close friend of the jeweller, became unreachable since July 11, leading Ravinder Kumar to believe that Bawa and unidentified individuals had colluded to deceive him in association with the fake GST inspectors, the official said. The team meticulously analysed over 100 CCTV cameras and call details. Acting on technical surveillance, Sushil

Kumar was arrested from Khanna, Punjab, and eight of the 10 gold plates were recovered from his residence, DCP Outer confirmed.