Sarafa Bazaar theft: Sons confess to stealing Rs120m worth of jewels
Police officials had been grilling ‘insiders’ after the sudden recovery of the valuables.
RAWALPINDI:
The three sons of a jeweller who recently lost and then recovered jewellery worth Rs120 million from his workshop on Wednesday confessed to the crime on Thursday.
A police official told The Express Tribune that the trio confessed to stealing valuable diamonds and jewellery from their father’s workshop, adding that they were “repentant over their conduct”.
The final act of the burglary, said to be biggest robbery in the history of Sarafa Bazaar (Gold Market) Rawalpindi, happened when the police found out about the location of the loot, after one of Haq’s son received an “anonymous” call about its location.
Sources close to the investigation team said that Anwarul Haq’s three sons, Ammar, Aamir and Imran, were being quizzed after the jewellery was recovered from the rooftop of the same workshop from where the valuables went missing.
Though police high-ups did not confirm the three brothers’ arrest, an official told The Express Tribune that the boys were taken into custody after Ammar informed the police that he received an anonymous call that the stolen items were lying on the roof.
All evidence collected by the investigators so far point towards the involvement of insiders or someone very close to the family, said a police officer asking not to be named because he was not authorised to talk to media.
He said that the Sarafa Union, an organisation that represents the goldsmiths, has also been trying to convince the police to wind up their investigation as the stolen goods have been recovered.
City Police Officer Azhar Hameed Khokhar said that investigations were underway and they were focusing on the “dubious” phone call that was made to one of Haq’s sons.
Khokhar said they were trying to collect the call data of the anonymous caller to establish his identity. “His identity will lead us to the actual culprit and help us ascertain the motive behind the theft and the subsequent return of the looted jewellery,” said the CPO.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 30th, 2011.
The three sons of a jeweller who recently lost and then recovered jewellery worth Rs120 million from his workshop on Wednesday confessed to the crime on Thursday.
A police official told The Express Tribune that the trio confessed to stealing valuable diamonds and jewellery from their father’s workshop, adding that they were “repentant over their conduct”.
The final act of the burglary, said to be biggest robbery in the history of Sarafa Bazaar (Gold Market) Rawalpindi, happened when the police found out about the location of the loot, after one of Haq’s son received an “anonymous” call about its location.
Sources close to the investigation team said that Anwarul Haq’s three sons, Ammar, Aamir and Imran, were being quizzed after the jewellery was recovered from the rooftop of the same workshop from where the valuables went missing.
Though police high-ups did not confirm the three brothers’ arrest, an official told The Express Tribune that the boys were taken into custody after Ammar informed the police that he received an anonymous call that the stolen items were lying on the roof.
All evidence collected by the investigators so far point towards the involvement of insiders or someone very close to the family, said a police officer asking not to be named because he was not authorised to talk to media.
He said that the Sarafa Union, an organisation that represents the goldsmiths, has also been trying to convince the police to wind up their investigation as the stolen goods have been recovered.
City Police Officer Azhar Hameed Khokhar said that investigations were underway and they were focusing on the “dubious” phone call that was made to one of Haq’s sons.
Khokhar said they were trying to collect the call data of the anonymous caller to establish his identity. “His identity will lead us to the actual culprit and help us ascertain the motive behind the theft and the subsequent return of the looted jewellery,” said the CPO.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 30th, 2011.