Kangra Police have cracked a high-value burglary case involving the theft of gold and silver ornaments worth nearly ₹70 lakh from a house in Dharamsala, arresting two accused and recovering most of the stolen property within days of the crime.
Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, Kangra Superintendent of Police Kulbhushan Verma said the burglary was reported on June 29 after Dr. Anjali Chauhan complained that burglars had broken into her residence while the family was away attending a wedding.
The thieves escaped with around three kilograms of silver, three gold mangalsutras, three pairs of gold earrings, a silver necklace, ₹7,000-8,000 in cash and the Digital Video Recorder (DVR) of the house's CCTV system.
"The accused had spent several days in the locality posing as scrap and rag collectors to conduct a recce before committing the theft," Verma said.
Although the burglars stole the DVR to destroy evidence, police pieced together their movements using CCTV footage from neighbouring houses and road junctions. Technical analysis, backed by the criminal records of known offenders, led investigators to Chandan, a resident of Gaggal with 11 previous theft cases against him, and Anju, wife of Ramesh Kumar, also of Gaggal.
During interrogation, the accused led police to the stolen valuables. Officers recovered 50 tolas of gold jewellery and 1.2 kg of silver, with 35 tolas of gold found hidden in bushes near Gaggal bridge. The stolen DVR was also recovered from a stream near Fatehpur bridge and has been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory for examination.
Police said Chandan also confessed to selling 15 tolas of stolen gold to a jeweller, Vivek Kumar, in Hamirpur. The melted gold was recovered during a raid on the jewellery shop. The jeweller has been served a legal notice and is cooperating with the investigation.
Both accused have been remanded to police custody for further interrogation to ascertain whether others were involved in the burglary.
Verma urged residents to strengthen home security by installing CCTV systems with cloud-based storage. "Even if the recording device is stolen, cloud storage ensures the footage remains available," he said.
He also advised people to inform neighbours or local representatives before leaving home for extended periods, keep valuables in bank lockers instead of at home, and ensure verification of migrant workers and outside labourers through the local police, saying these precautions could significantly reduce property-related crimes.