Noida police nabs three burglars, stumbles upon '100-yr-old' pistol: Official

The Noida police has recovered an "over 100-year-old" stolen pistol from the possession of three burglars whom they arrested after an exchange of fire, an official said Thursday.

The trio, involved in over a dozen burglary cases in Delhi and NCR, was nabbed late Wednesday night after an encounter near Chhalera vilage in Sector 39 police station area, said Deputy Commissioner of Police, Noida Zone 1, Sankalp Sharma.

Besides several stolen properties, including USD 2,200 and Rs 9,000 in cash, two motorcycles used by the accused in crimes, and over a dozen jewellery sets and ornaments, the police also recovered a Colt pistol from them, he said.

"We have also recovered a pistol that was stolen along with some bullets from a house in Sector 20 in October last year. The owner of the weapon claims it is over a 100-year-old pistol," Sharma told reporters.

"We are further questioning the accused for details, he added.

The accused have been identified as Mohit Singh, Ankit and Manish Verma, and with their arrest the police has been able to crack over a dozen cases of thefts in houses and recovered 80 per cent of the items stolen, the officer said.

"The trio would basically target locked houses with their residents out. They would break into these houses and decamp with whatever jewellery or cash they could found inside," he said.

Accused Manish doubled up as a jeweller for the stolen material and has a criminal history. He was sent to jail in a similar case in 2012, the officer said, adding Mohit and Ankit both have over 15 cases against them.