Sari salesman’s cover blown: Police nab burglar who posed as fabric vendor in Delhi

Delhi Police have uncovered a burglary racket with a twist of deception, where one of the accused posed as a sari seller to divert suspicion while his accomplice broke into houses. The case surfaced after a daylight robbery in Shahdara’s MS Park area on August 19.

According to police, 24-year-old Mohammad Salman, originally from Muzaffarnagar and residing in Sunder Nagri, carried a bag of saris as a disguise while allegedly keeping watch outside locked homes. Behind him, his partner Suhail would slip inside and flee with gold and silver jewellery.

The scheme came apart after police received a PCR call on the day of the burglary. A case was registered at MS Park police station under sections 305 (theft in a dwelling house, or means of transportation or place of worship, etc.) and 331 (punishment for house-trespass or housebreaking) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.


DCP (Shahdara) Prashant Gautam said, “The team analysed CCTV footage of the spot and nearby areas. We found out that the alleged burglars came on a scooter.”

He added, “In the footage, we also saw that while one of the burglars was outside a house pretending to sell fabric, his accomplice broke in and looted gold and silver jewellery from the house. The duo then fled on the scooter.”

Investigators traced the scooter’s registration number to its owner in Pasonda, Ghaziabad. Further leads pointed to his elder brother Suhail, a Meerut resident with a criminal history who, police discovered, frequently shifted locations.

While tracking Suhail, the team zeroed in on Salman and arrested him on August 23. Officers recovered the scooter allegedly used in the crime from his possession.

During interrogation, Salman told police he had worked as a sari seller in Delhi and came to know Suhail through his brother around three to four months ago. He revealed that many men from Suhail’s village were involved in sari selling and lived in Sunder Nagri.

Raids were carried out at Suhail’s suspected hideouts, but he remains on the run.

(With inputs from ToI)