Three men behind Aligarh jewellery shop loot held after encounter in Noida

Three men, who allegedly looted a jewellery shop in Aligarh last week, were held in Uttar Pradesh's Noida on Wednesday after an encounter with police, officials said. "Prima facie, it has emerged that the trio was behind the daylight loot in the jewellery shop in Aligarh on September 11," the official said.

Three men, who allegedly looted a jewellery shop in Aligarh last week, were held in Uttar Pradesh's Noida on Wednesday after an encounter with police, officials said. The gunfight broke out on a road leading to Delhi around 4 pm when the accused were en route to the national capital on a motorcycle. They were intercepted at a check post set up by the Sector 39 police station, the officials said. They have been identified as Saurabh Singh, Mohit and Rohit Singh, natives of UP's Aligarh district. They were injured in the gunfight and taken to a hospital for treatment, a police official said. "Prima facie, it has emerged that the trio was behind the daylight loot in the jewellery shop in Aligarh on September 11," the official said. Later, a police spokesperson confirmed that the men were behind the loot and claimed that with their arrest, Noida police have thwarted their next loot bid in the Delhi-NCR. "The accused told police that they routinely targeted shops and commercial establishments in markets of Delhi-NCR and nearby places like Aligarh. They told investigators that they used stolen vehicles during the crime," the spokesperson said.

When combined, they have 36 FIRs registered against their names in various districts, including Aligarh, Gautam Buddh Nagar and Gurgaon, he said. The three men, with face masks, had entered the jewellery shop in Bannadevi area of Aligarh around 2 pm on September 11. Later, they held the store owner at gunpoint and looted jewellery worth Rs 36 lakh and Rs 50,000 cash, according to Aligarh police. The daylight episode, which was caught in a CCTV camera, appeared straight out of a film scene where the accused had casually entered the shop that already had few customers. They were even offered sanitiser by one of the shopkeepers to clean their hands, preceding the loot in the busy market area. Police said some stolen items, including jewellery and three country-made pistols, have been recovered from them, while their two-wheeler has also been impounded.

Five pendants, a ring, two earrings, 72 nose pins, all made of yellow metal, have been recovered from their possession, the police added.