Bollywood-style heist in Delhi: Woman, shopkeeper, student pose as CBI, loot businessman’s house

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In a brazen crime straight out of a Bollywood plot, a woman, a shopkeeper and an unemployed student posed as Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officers to rob a businessman’s house in North Delhi, TimesNow reported. The trio, who meticulously planned their disguises and even "seized" valuables with fake paperwork, were arrested after a week-long chase that ended in Haridwar and Mussoorie.

The 22-year-old woman, a distant relative of the victim, knew about the cash and jewellery stored at his Wazirabad residence. She enlisted Keshav Prasad (28), who runs a food supplement shop in Haridwar and Vivek Singh (20), an unemployed student from Delhi’s Johripur, to execute the audacious robbery.

On July 10, dressed in white shirts, black trousers and face masks, the trio knocked on the businessman’s door, claiming to be CBI officials from Okhla. Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Raja Banthia was cited by TimesNow as saying that they brandished a fictitious FIR and intimidated the family when asked for documentation. "They scolded the family, demanded cooperation, then forced open a cupboard," he said.

The fake officers made off with Rs 3 lakh in cash and gold and silver jewellery. In a hasty attempt to legitimise the theft, they scribbled an "acknowledgment" in a notebook belonging to the victim’s daughter, signing it with pseudonyms before fleeing. By the time the family alerted police, the trio had vanished.

Investigators scoured footage from 200 CCTV cameras, zeroing in on a motorcycle parked outside the house during the robbery. The bike was traced to Prasad, but he had already gone underground. Phone surveillance revealed the group hopping between Haridwar and Mussoorie, splurging stolen money on hotels and travel, TimesNow reported.

After days of tracking, police nabbed Prasad and the woman in Mussoorie on July 18, while Singh was arrested in Haridwar the same day. The woman reportedly confessed that her prior visits to the house had revealed the stash, prompting the elaborate scheme. Police recovered Rs 1.75 lakh, 29 jewellery pieces and the motorcycle used in the crime.