A four-year-long vow finally came to an end on Tuesday for 50-year-old Uday Singh after police recovered his licensed rifle, a family heirloom allegedly stolen from his home in 2022.
A four-year-long vow finally came to an end on Tuesday for 50-year-old Uday Singh after police recovered his licensed rifle, a family heirloom allegedly stolen from his home in 2022. Singh, a former village head who runs an inter-college, had made an unusual pledge following the theft that he would neither cut his hair nor shave his beard until the missing rifle was recovered.
The rifle was stolen along with gold and silver jewellery worth lakhs of rupees and cash during a burglary at his house.
For four years, Singh remained relentless in his pursuit of the stolen weapon. Despite continuing his responsibilities at the college, he regularly followed up with the police, meeting officers after completing his work each day.
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His determination also came at a personal cost. His wife allegedly left for her parental home after becoming upset over his decision, but Singh refused to abandon his vow.
His long wait finally ended on Tuesday when police arrested suspected burglar Dhruv Singh, 30, and recovered the licensed rifle from his possession. Police also seized two live .315-bore cartridges, Rs 50,000 in cash and a motorcycle.
With the prized family heirloom finally back in his hands, Singh thanked the police team before heading straight for a haircut and beard trim, formally bringing his four-year-long pledge to an end.
Police said Dhruv was a habitual burglar with three cases registered against him at Kagarol police station. A reward of Rs 10,000 had earlier been announced for information leading to his arrest, which was later increased to Rs 25,000.
During questioning, Dhruv allegedly confessed to carrying out several thefts with his associates, police said, adding that they are now searching for two other suspects, identified as Bablu and Anirudh.
DCP (West) Aditya said, “Dhruv was arrested following coordinated action by teams from Kheragarh police station, SOG and surveillance teams. Dhruv had as many as nine criminal cases pending against him at various police stations in Agra.”
