In Dehradun, an 80-year-old grandmother from Maharashtra, along with her gang, has committed a theft at a jewelry shop. A video related to the incident has also surfaced, in which it can be seen that three elderly people and a young man enter the shop of Surendra Kumar Kakkar at Doiwala Chowk under the pretense of buying gold chains.
During this, 80-year-old Vimla and her friend distract the jewelers with conversation. Along with them, a 76-year-old thief watches the items in the shop and the people around. After this, the elderly person signals her young companion to go outside and checks who is outside.
Afterwards, they ask a female employee to show rings and chains and sit separately. Meanwhile, two of their accomplices arrive from outside. Then, the 80-year-old thief begins to check the chains and rings.
At that moment, two young men standing far away tell the female employee to show the chain. The woman goes to them. After this, the young men attract the attention of the employees under the pretext of looking at a ring, and the 80-year-old thief helps them in this.
During this time, 76-year-old Vimla and her friend came along and put a complete set from the shop into their bag, which included six gold chains. After this, they make an excuse that they do not like the chains and leave the shop one by one. The Doiwala police of Dehradun have revealed them in ‘Operation Prahar’.
1. On May 8, a gang entered Kanchan Jewelers – a group of customers arrived at the shop of Kanchan Jewelers, located in Doiwala Chowk, owned by Surendra Kumar Kakkar. The group included elderly women and men. They presented themselves as members of a respectable family to avoid arousing suspicion.
The gang’s master plan was very simple but effective. 80-year-old Vimla and 76-year-old Pandurang kept the elderly shopkeeper engaged in showing jewelry designs and bargaining. Due to their age, the shopkeeper respected them, and Vimla often scolded the shopkeepers over the bargaining.
Amidst this commotion, when the employees’ attention was diverted, other members of the gang discreetly made off with the valuable jewelry.
2. Theft revealed the next day – The day after the incident, the shopkeeper Surendra Kumar Kakkar discovered that six gold chains, worth approximately 700,000 rupees in the market, were missing from his shop. He immediately filed a case (under Section 305(A) BNS) against unknown accused at Doiwala Police Station.
3. Search for thieves under Operation Prahar – A team was formed under the leadership of Station House Officer Kamal Kumar Lunthi on the instructions of SSP Dehradun. The police examined CCTV footage and activated informers. The investigation revealed that this gang had also tried to target other jewelers in Dehradun, but due to their vigilance, they were unsuccessful.
4. Encirclement at Harrawala station – After committing the crime, the accused were planning to flee back to Maharashtra. On May 13, the police received precise information that the accused were waiting for a train at Harrawala railway station. The police team carried out an encirclement and arrested a total of 6 accused, including 5 men and 1 woman.
5. Six chains recovered from the accused – Police have recovered 100% of the stolen jewelry (6 gold chains) from the possession of the accused. The arrested accused include Pandurang (76), Vimal (80), Vasudev (57), Manish (46), Satish (39), and Mangesh (34). All of them are originally residents of Raigad, Thane, and Satara districts in Maharashtra.
During interrogation, the accused revealed that they took advantage of their old age because people easily trusted them. This is an interstate gang that has committed similar incidents in other states as well. Currently, all the accused have been sent to jail under judicial custody.