Delhi man stages burglary at own house to repay loans, arrested
New Delhi (PTI): A 45-year-old man, who had reported a burglary at his house in Uttam Nagar, was arrested after it was found that he had staged the crime to repay his mounting debts, a police officer said on Monday.
The accused, identified as Butta Singh, worked as an AC technician and owned a shop in Sewak Park, he said.
Facing financial losses and struggling to repay loans, he allegedly stole gold jewellery from his house and reported a fake burglary, the officer added.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka) Ankit Singh said, "Butta Singh had lodged a complaint on March 21, stating that between 3 pm and 6 pm, unidentified people had stolen a gold necklace set, a gold mangalsutra, two gold rings, a gold chain and Rs 45,000 in cash from his residence."
A case was registered at Uttam Nagar police station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
During the probe, Singh's wife told police that around the time of the incident, she had left home to buy groceries, while her husband was out for work and children in school. When she returned, the jewellery was found missing.
The DCP said investigators noted that there were no signs of forced entry, and only Singh and his wife had the house keys.
CCTV footage from the area showed no unknown persons coming to the building at the said time, but Singh himself was seen entering and leaving the house within nine minutes.
His mobile phone records revealed messages from a finance company regarding gold pledges, the DCP said.
After being confronted with the evidence, Singh confessed that he had stolen the jewellery to clear overdue loan payments. He took a loan when he purchased his shop in 2022 and later took another loan to renovate it.
Additionally, he had bought a seven-seater taxi on bank credit, but financial setbacks led him into deep debt, the officer said.
Police have recovered a gold necklace set and a gold ring from his possession. Other gold items were found to be mortgaged at a pawn shop in Uttam Nagar.
Singh has no previous criminal record, police said.
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SP has ended contract with I-PAC due to fund constraints: Akhilesh Yadav
Lucknow (PTI): Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said his party has severed its association with the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) due to a lack of funds.
He dismissed speculations that the termination of contract was because of recent election results.
Addressing a press conference here, Yadav said the party had engaged I-PAC for a brief period ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections but could not continue the arrangement.
"Yes, we had an association. They worked with us for a few months, but we are not able to continue because we do not have that kind of funding," he said.
The I-PAC is a political consultancy firm known for managing major election campaigns across the country.
Election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor has also been associated with the organisation in the past and has worked with multiple parties, including the BJP and the Congress.
In a lighter vein, Yadav took a swipe at the ecosystem of political consultancies. "We thought that if we have to work with a 'winning agency', then there are several big companies."
He said that some people suggested conducting surveys, hiring another firm, keeping a social media company, and even engaging agencies for negative campaigning against other parties.
"There are one or two more companies whose names are not yet known. I can get those for you as well," Yadav said.
Yadav rejected the suggestion that the decision to end the deal was influenced by recent election outcomes in states such as West Bengal.
"There is no such thing. Do not ask questions based on baseless reports. That is not true," he said.
"This is not the reason for ending the agreement. We simply do not have enough funds. If you (the media) give us funds, we can hire another company," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.
