Kailash Satyarthi's house ransacked, Nobel replica stolen

While Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi was in Colombia attending a Nobel peace summit, his house in South-east Delhi's Arawali apartment was ransacked and the burglars walked away with his Nobel medal (replica) and certificate kept in the fancy jewellery boxes.

It seems that the burglars who struck at the Nobel laureate's house in Kalkaji, on the intervening night of February 6 and 7, targetted only the jewellery-type velvet boxes in which his Nobel certificate and Nobel Medal replica were kept. Kailash Satyarthi, who also runs an NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan, left the country on January 31 to visit Colombia to attend a Nobel Peace Summit. He is in Panama now.

The incident of burglary was reported when one worker of the NGO visited Satyarthi's house in the morning and found the door of the house broken and the house ransacked. Kailash Satyarthi's brother was also informed who stays in a different place in Delhi.

Immediately, the cops were informed. Senior police officers visited the spot and investigated the crime scene.

Sources in police say that the thieves mistook the blue velvet jewellery boxes for real ones and decamped with the medal replica thinking it to be made of gold. Many valuable items in the house remained untouched. However, the original Nobel prize is kept with the President.

"We are focussing on the gangs with similar modus operandi in the area. The burglars who mainly target jewellery. We are working in coordination with the Crime Branch and have formed several teams to crack the case," said Additional DCP (South-east) Rajeev Ranjan.

Senior police officers have directed the Crime Branch to coordinate with the district police to solve the case.

Meanwhile, the crime team also visited the spot and took the fingerprints from the doors and the handles of the almirah.

The cops have now rounded up several notorious criminals from the area and are questioning them. They are also questioning the guards and residents to get some clue of the theft. It is also reported that several CCTV cameras of the Arawali apartment in Kalkaji weren't functioning. Cops suspect the thieves had recced the area before striking. The burglars also struck at two more houses in the locality on the same night.