Jeweller shot dead by armed robbers

A 65-year-old jeweller was shot dead by three masked men who attempted to rob his shop at north Delhi’s bullion market in Dariba Kalan area on Tuesday night. 

One of the suspects was nabbed from the Indira Gandhi International Airport even as he was trying to flee to Bangkok.

The victim Kanhaiya Lal and his two sons were packing up for the day at about 9 pm on Tuesday at their ‘Kanhaiya Lal & Sons’ shop when the armed robbers arrived.

Lal had a hammer in his hand at that time and in a bid to offer resistance, he hurled it at one of the robbers. One of his two sons too took the cue and picked up and hurled another object lying close to him. 

Faced with stiff resistance, the robbers allegedly panicked and shot Lal in the stomach. They also allegedly fired several rounds while fleeing. The victim was rushed to Sushruta Trauma Centre where he was declared brought dead.

The police received a call at 9.15 pm and  arrived at the scene. Police said they recovered a bag which  provided crucial information about the assailants. 

The identity was further established through a CCTV footage from the shop. “Several police teams were formed and through local intelligence it was learnt that they might escape to some foreign countries,” said a senior police officer.

Authorities at various airports were put on alert and look out circulars were issued. One of the suspects Karen Valecha, 26, was arrested on Wednesday afternoon from IGI Airport.

He revealed to the police that he was headed to Bangkok by Indian Airlines flight that was scheduled to leave at 1.20 pm. “He was detained by the immigration staff and handed over to us,” police said.

Valecha had been working and living at Bangkok for over four years with one of his brothers. He would come on and off to India to commit crimes and flee back to that country.

A class 12 drop out, Valecha worked with his father at his jewellery designing shop. Later he worked at jewellery shops in Chandni Chowk and Karol Bagh before moving to Bangkok in 2010. Efforts are on to nab the other culprits as well, the police said.