NEW DELHI: A 45-year-old AC technician was arrested for allegedly staging a burglary at his home in Delhi’s Uttam Nagar area to repay his loans, police said on Monday.
The accused, identified as Butta Singh, a resident of Om Vihar in Uttam Nagar, had reported on March 21 that gold jewellery and Rs 45,000 were stolen from his house between 3 pm and 6 pm.
Singh’s wife, Inderjit Kaur, informed the police that her husband and their two children work as AC technicians and operate a shop in Sewak Park. She stated that she left the house around 3 pm to purchase groceries, and upon returning, found the jewellery missing.
During the investigation, authorities found no signs of forced entry. The complainant also mentioned that there were two keys to the main door—one with her and another with her husband.
Upon reviewing CCTV footage, police found no suspicious individuals approaching the house. After analysing the footage multiple times, officials found that Singh entered the building around 3:20 pm and left after about nine minutes. Singh was subsequently detained and questioned, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka) Ankit Singh.
Police also examined Singh’s mobile phone and found messages from a finance company about the pledging of gold articles. Faced with this evidence, Singh admitted to staging the robbery. Further interrogation revealed that Singh had been struggling financially. In 2022, he took out a loan to purchase the AC repair shop and another loan to buy a seven-seater taxi. However, his investments resulted in significant losses, and he failed to repay his loans, defaulting on his EMIs.