Jammu, Oct 2: Police in Samba stated to have achieved a significant breakthrough against property-related crimes, by successfully busting a theft module involved in multiple theft incidents in the district, with the arrest of three accused and recovery of stolen gold ornaments, worth Rs 10.36 lakh (approximately) along with cash amounting to Rs 35000.
The busting of the module, Police said, solved two theft cases registered at Police Station Ghagwal.
According to Police, on August 28, 2026, a written complaint was lodged at Police Post Rajpura by one Darshan Singh, son of Puru Ram, resident of Sanoora tehsil Rajpura district Samba regarding theft of gold and silver ornaments and cash from his residence by some unknown persons.
Acting upon the complaint, a case FIR number 85/2026 U/S 331(3), 305 (a) BNS was registered at Police Station Ghagwal and investigation started.
During the course of investigation, a team of Police Post Rajpura after relentless efforts coupled with technical and human intelligence, succeeded in identifying and arresting two accused persons namely Rohit Chauhan alias Labbu, son of Anchal Singh and Lovely Kumar alias Happy, son of Ramesh Chand, both residents of Hariye Chak, tehsil Marheen district Kathua.
During sustained questioning, both the accused confessed their involvement in the instant case.
On the basis of their disclosures and further investigation, the Police arrested a third accused identified as Mehboob Akhter, son of Shams-ud-Din, resident of Dodla tehsil Basohli of district Kathua, presently residing at Teli Basti, Bari Brahmana.
Further, on the disclosure of accused Mehboob Akhter, Police, in connection with FIR number 85/2026, recovered stolen items viz., one gold Mangalsutra; one gold necklace; two gold earrings; one pair of Jhumkas; four gold rings and cash amounting to Rs 30,000.
The estimated value of recovered gold ornaments is approximately Rs 4,68,600.
During further investigation, the involvement of the accused Mehboob Akhter in another theft case registered under FIR number 68/2026 u/s/ 305/331(3) BNS of Police Station Ghagwal, also came to light.
After sustained investigation, Police, on the disclosure of the accused in case FIR number 68/2026, recovered stolen items including two gold bangles; one gold Mangalsutra; one gold ring; two pairs of gold Jhumkas (earrings) and cash amounting to Rs 5,000. The estimated value of recovered gold ornaments is approximately Rs 5,68,000.
The total estimated value of recovered gold ornaments in both the cases is approximately Rs 10,36,600.00.
Police said that the accused Mehboob Akhter was a notorious thief and involved in more than 26 theft cases registered against him at different Police Stations of districts Samba, Kathua, Jammu and Reasi. He had also remained detained under the Public Safety Act (PSA) during 2025.
The other accused Rohit Chauhan alias Labbu is also a habitual offender and involved in multiple theft cases registered against him in districts Samba, Kathua and Jammu.
“The recovery of substantial stolen property in both cases marks a significant development in the investigation. Further investigation in both the cases is in progress to ascertain the involvement of the accused persons in other theft incidents,” Police said.
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