Noida: Four men were arrested after a brief gunfight on Sunday for allegedly robbing two houses in a residential society in Surajpur, police said. Gold ornaments, cash, foreign currency allegedly stolen during the burglaries and the car used in the crime were recovered from their possession.The accused were identified as Veer Pal (25), Vijay Pal (21), Arjun Kashyap (25), and Awdesh Singh (25), all natives of Kasganj who were living in Surajpur, Greater Noida. During interrogation, they allegedly confessed to working as taxi drivers through an online cab-booking platform and said they deliberately targeted the society on the intervening night of July 4 and 5.According to police, the burglaries took place around 3:30 am on July 5 at Paramount Golf Forest Society in Surajpur. Investigators said the accused exploited a security loophole to enter the gated residential complex before targeting two houses.In the first house, Aparna Rai (35), an engineer, was sleeping with her two children while her in-laws were downstairs. Police said she woke up after hearing noises, and one of the intruders threatened to kill her before fleeing with Rs 30,000 in cash, gold jewellery and a bag containing her PAN card.According to Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central Noida) Swatantra Singh, Veer Pal confessed to entering the first house while Awdesh stood guard outside. “When the woman woke up, she was threatened and robbed of her jewellery, cash and a bag containing her PAN card. The same night, the accused also broke into another house and stole a bag, foreign currency, Indian currency and two watches,” Singh said.During the investigation, police scanned footage from nearly 150 CCTV cameras and used electronic surveillance to trace the suspects. They were eventually tracked down in Tilpata, Greater Noida, where they were arrested after a brief exchange of fire on Sunday.“Veer Pal and Awdesh scaled the society wall and entered the premises, while Vijay Pal and Arjun remained outside near their car and behind bushes, keeping watch on movement inside and outside the society,” Singh said.The accused have been booked under Sections 305 (theft), 317(2) (dishonestly receiving stolen property) and 331(4) (house-trespass or housebreaking by night to commit an offence punishable with imprisonment) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at Surajpur police station.Police have also issued notices to the society’s security agency and guards. “We are examining the security lapses in the society and investigating whether any member of the security staff was involved in the crime,” Singh said.
