Ghaziabad: It began with a celebration. A young showroom employee announced that his marriage had been fixed, gathered colleagues for a party and raised a toast to the future. By the next morning, the same celebration had become the opening act of a meticulously planned Rs 4-crore jewellery heist.Three persons — Tanishq employee Nitin Verma (23), his girlfriend Kajal Verma (22) and his father Sanjay Verma (52) — were arrested for the theft of jewellery worth over Rs 4 crore from the brand’s Raj Nagar District Centre showroom on June 12. Police said the theft was planned to fund the couple’s wedding and executed with startling simplicity after Nitin managed to lay his hands on the showroom keys.According to police, Nitin had been working at the showroom for about a month and half. Yet, the brief stint was enough for him to learn exactly where the most valuable ornaments were stored, how the premises operated and, most importantly, who carried the keys.A day before the theft, Nitin organised a party for showroom staff, telling colleagues that his marriage with Kajal had been finalised. During the gathering, he allegedly persuaded cashier Gautam Raj, who held the showroom’s keys, to drink heavily. Later, he offered to drop him home and allegedly removed the main entrance key from the cashier’s bag.The following morning, around 7am, Nitin returned to the showroom with an accomplice. CCTV footage reviewed by police showed the pair opening the shutter lock using the stolen key and walking in casually.What happened next suggested detailed knowledge of the showroom layout.“It took just 25 minutes to carry out the theft. They did not attempt to steal anything from the ground, second or third floors. They knew gold, diamond and gem-studded jewellery was stored on the first floor and targeted only that section,” DCP Dhawal Jaiswal said.Police said one accomplice remained outside the showroom to keep watch while Nitin and another associate entered the building. After collecting the ornaments worth Rs 4 crore, the duo left the showroom and fled. Their vehicle had been parked away from the premises to avoid attracting attention.The manner in which the theft was executed also exposed glaring security lapses.According to police, the showroom had no alarm system despite storing jewellery worth more than Rs 50 crore. Only one guard was deployed for night duty, and he, too, left for home around 7am.Although CCTV footage was supposed to have been monitored remotely by the company’s head office, nobody flagged the presence of intruders despite them remaining inside the showroom for over 25 minutes.ACP Suryabali Maurya said Nitin and Kajal had jointly planned the theft, while Sanjay Verma was brought in to help dispose of the stolen ornaments. “They were selling jewellery in the market on the pretext of arranging money for medical treatment and had already sold some pieces at throwaway prices,” he added.Police recovered around 2kg of gold ornaments valued at Rs 3.1 crore and Rs 6.5 lakh in cash from the accused. The remaining associates are absconding.An FIR was registered against the three under relevant sections relating to theft, criminal conspiracy and common intention. Police said efforts were underway to trace the absconding accused and recover the remaining stolen jewellery.
