Five arrested for 'stealing' jewellery at stores

Five people from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, including two women, have been arrested by the Chickpet police on the charge of stealing ornaments from jewellery shops by diverting the attention of the staff. 

The suspects are Chand Bibi, 55, Mohammed Rafeeq, 28, Siraj, 52, Shameem Bhanu, 42, and Mohammed Rafiq, 34. Police said they had recovered stolen jewellery worth Rs 1.8 lakh from them. 

The suspects would visit jewellery stores as customers and as the staff would get busy showing them jewellery, they would divert their attention, steal the ornaments and flee. Police said they had distributed the suspects’ photographs among lodge owners, seeking tip-offs.

In another incident, the Cottonpet police arrested five men planning to commit robbery. Gajraj, 18, Bharathesh, 19, Puneeth, 19, Ganesh, 19, and Raju, 22, were planning to rob two shops using gas cylinders and cutters, police claimed. A gas cylinder, oxygen cylinder and gas cutter are claimed to have been recovered from the suspects.