3 held for stealing cash, jewellery worth Rs 8 cr from Agra shoe factory

Agra: Three people, including a computer operator, were arrested in Agra for allegedly stealing cash and jewellery worth nearly Rs 7.7 crore from a footwear manufacturing unit in Sikandra, police said on Friday.Anupam Sharma (30), his brother Anurag Sharma (41) and their associate Sanjay Singh (42) were caught while attempting to divide the property stolen from Roger Industries, which had been hidden in a forested area in the city. Police recovered the entire stolen cash and jewellery.Police said Rs 66.33 lakh in cash, 3.8 kg of gold jewellery studded with diamonds and 5.5 kg of silver were stolen from the factory on Jan 19. Company owner Deepak Budhiraja lodged a complaint at Sikandara police station the same day after finding the locks on the factory gate and office lockers broken.Police commissioner Deepak Kumar said Anupam, who worked as a computer operator at the unit for the past four years, used his insider knowledge of the factory layout, security arrangements and staff movement to plan the heist on a Sunday, when the unit was largely shut.Police said Anupam entered the factory by first climbing an adjacent tin shed, broke a window on the first floor, disabled a CCTV camera in the owner's office and looted the cash and jewellery. His brother Anurag and Sanjay kept watch outside and later helped hide the stolen property in a nearby forest.During interrogation, Anupam confessed that he planned the theft to arrange money to settle in Bengaluru with his girlfriend. Anurag, who runs a dhaba at a village, allegedly helped plan the crime and involved Sanjay.An FIR was registered under BNS sections 331(4) (trespass), 305 (theft) and 317 (stolen property). All three accused have been sent to judicial custody, police said.