2 held for stealing foreign currency worth over Rs 2 cr from businessman

Two men were arrested for allegedly stealing foreign currency worth over Rs 2 crore from a west-Delhi based businessman, the police said today.

Rakesh Godara, running a business of purchase and sale of goods and commodities imported from foreign suppliers, had filed a police complaint that foreign currency worth over Rs 2 crore had been stolen from him, they said.

In his complaint, Godara said that he had employed Ratan a month ago to assist in his business, but later sacked him due to his addiction to liquor. On April 11, he went to Kota to meet his daughter studying in an engineering college there, the police said.

The next day he was informed by his business partner that Ratan had come to Delhi on the pretext of some work and wanted to stay at his residence. Though Godara was initially reluctant to let Ratan stay at his house, but later took pity on him and complied, they said.

That night, Ratan got the other employees, staying at the house, drunk. He then opened the doors of the house to let his accomplices Daljeet and Jasbir enter and directed them to the place where the foreign currency was kept along with the Indian bank notes, the police said.

Daljeet and Jasbir fled immediately after stealing the money, while Ratan left the next day, they said.

On returning to Delhi, Godara tried on his own to search for the accused. After he failed to do, he approached the police.

After questioning the acquaintances of the accused, the police conducted raids in Sirsa, Chandigarh, Mohali, national capital region (NCR), Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra as the accused persons were constantly changing their locations, Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Vijay Kumar said.

Subsequently, Daljeet was arrested from Hauz Khas. During interrogation, he confessed that they had planned was to flee to Bangkok, he said, adding the second accused Jasbir was arrested from Nanded in Maharashtra on the intervening night of April 18 and 19, and 2,42,500 Euros was recovered from him.

In subsequent raids across NCR, foreign currency worth over Rs 33 lakh, mobile phones worth a lakh and two passports were recovered from various hideouts of the accused, the officer said, adding the police are searching for the other accused.