New Delhi Jewelry Thieves Run Underground Betting Ring

Police in New Delhi cracked an underground betting racket which was being funded by stealing jewelry in the centre of the city. The thefts occurred when the accused worked as a courier for the jewelers, siphoning off pieces of gold during deliveries after telling customers they would be delivered separately.

Karol Bagh was the jewelers targeted in New Delhi and three men have been arrested in connection with the alleged crimes.

Gold jewelry targeted

Bharat Nathmal, Sachin Shinde and Shravan are the three men who stand accused of the thefts, and of running the illegal cricket betting ring, being funded with profits from stealing jewelry. Bharat Nathmal is the pivotal figure in the plot, as he was the individual who was employed by the jeweler as a transporter.

The crimes eventually came to light when another shop in Chandni Chowk was due to receive jewelry but made a complaint when it wasn’t received. The jewelry had been given to Nathmal to deliver, but he’d stolen it instead.

Upon being told of the theft, the police were contacted and Nathmal disappeared from his known residence.

After a short investigation it became clear that this was not an isolated occasion and that Nathmal had been regularly stealing gold from his employer, taking it en route and sharing it with his accomplices, one of whom was also a jewelry courier and the other was a jeweler.

In total, 25kg of gold was stolen which was then melted down into gold bricks and used to pay for betting losses or debts accrued. The three men were apprehended in different parts of the country but only a small amount of gold was found during searches.

Funding for betting ring 

Central New Delhi police established that the thefts occurred to pay for an underground betting ring that Nathmal had set up with a group of friends, for the purposes of gambling on the cricket. Unfortunately, he hadn’t fared as well as he hoped and quickly accrued gambling debts that he was unable to pay. It was at this point that he turned to his employer, stealing gold to cover his betting losses and to fund further bets.

Nathmal took some time for the police to apprehend as he kept moving location to avoid being arrested. He was eventually caught in Rajasthan where he admitted the crimes, including the illegal betting. Despite confessing, Nathmal has not disclosed the location of the rest of the gold and the police are currently working on finding it.