A 16-year-old boy was apprehended for allegedly stealing his mother’s jewellery from her house in south-west Delhi’s Najafgarh to “impress” his girlfriend by gifting her an Apple iPhone, police said on Wednesday.
The crime was reported on August 3 by a woman named Shashi, who said two gold chains, a pair of gold earrings and a gold ring were stolen from her house on the previous day between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. After lodging a case and launching a probe, police found that the victim’s son had gone missing after the burglary.
“The police team, after examining his friends, found that the juvenile had recently purchased a phone worth ₹50,000,” said DCP (Dwarka) Ankit Singh.
The team then conducted raids at Dharmpura, Kakrola and Najafgarh, but the minor escaped each time. He was finally intercepted near his residence despite trying to run away, the DCP added.
The minor was interrogated and frisked, after which an Apple iPhone was found in his possession. “At first, he denied his involvement in the crime, but after sustained questioning, he confessed that he had stolen from his mother and sold one gold earring and a ring to a goldsmith at Kakrola, and sold the gold chains to a different goldsmith with the help of his friend,” the DCP said.
A goldsmith, Kamal Verma, 40, was subsequently arrested from his shop. The gold ring and earring were seized.
The juvenile, who is a Class 9 student at a private school in Najafgarh, confessed that he had approached his mother to give him money to buy his girlfriend a gift on her birthday, but due to limited resources, she had denied him and advised him to concentrate on his studies. His father had died due to illness earlier, said police, adding that after his mother’s denial, he stole from the house on August 2 when his family members were out of the house to raise money to buy his girlfriend a phone.
