Businessman’s house burgled, burnt, Rs.3 lakh looted

NEW DELHI - A burgle-and-burn gang struck at a businessman’s house and looted Rs.3 lakh in north Delhi’s Trinagar area Monday, two days after the leader of another such gang was arrested, police said.

“The incident was reported at 1.15 a.m. from 40-year-old Sanjay Jain’s residence in Trinagar’s Omkar Nagar. Jain was away at a function with his family when the incident occurred,” said a senior police officer.

“Before committing the crime, the culprits pitched a tent outside the house to avoid suspicion among neighbours. They hired the tent in the name of the house owner by paying Rs.500 in advance,” said the officer.

Police said Jain had gone to Rohini to attend the wedding of his nephew when his neighbours told him that his house was on fire and that the blaze had engulfed both its ground and first floors.

“The main door of the house was open and the entire house was ransacked. The ground floor was completely damaged. Jain said that cash and jewellery worth more than Rs.3 lakh is missing,” the officer said.

There are glaring similarities in the modus operandi of the gang which struck Monday and the other gang which was suspected to be involved in more than 1,500 such incidents of burglary-cum-arson at government officials’ homes in south Delhi.

Police claimed Monday’s crime was committed by another gang and not the one which was active in south Delhi and was known as Sanjeev gang.

Sanjeev, a vagabond of south Delhi, was arrested from Sarojini Nagar area of south Delhi Feb 19, a senior police officer said.