Thieves strike at UK-based bizman’s ancestral house
Jalandhar, July 7
Thieves decamped with jewels, valuables and goods of historic and vintage value worth lakhs from the ancestral Kapurthala residence of UK-based businessman and philanthropist Peter Virdi.
Virdi has his ancestral property at Sheikhupur village in Kapurthala. The robbers ransacked the entire house, rummaging through almirahs and cabinets.
A case under Sections 457 and 380 of the IPC has been registered against unidentified persons at the Kapurthla city police station.
A private businessman and collector based in Central London, Virdi has donated millions of pounds for the upkeep of gurdwaras in London and Pakistan. He is also famous for having bought Mahrani Jindan’s historic necklace, which went under the hammer at London-based Bonham’s in 2009. Virdi and his associate Dev Bath had bought the necklace for £55,200 (about Rs 42 lakh).
The robbed house in Kapurthala had heritage possessions worth crores owned by the Virdi family. It reportedly had valuables dating back to his grandmother’s trousseau, watches, gold jewellery and even oxygen machines meant to be distributed among the needy during the Covid pandemic.
However, the police said the presence of gold or silver ornaments hadn’t been verified yet.
Harabhajan Virdi, father of Peter Virdi, said the house had belongings of vintage and historic value preserved over generations. He appealed to the state government to ensure the arrest of the thieves and return things of sentimental value to the family.
Harabhajan Virdi said: “Trousseau valuables belonging to me, my wife, my father, my mother, Peter and my elder daughter-in-law were kept at the house. We don’t even have an exact estimate of the jewellery as it was lying here since long. Some of the items were priceless and had huge sentimental value for the family. The house was being visited and checked every week by the gardener. I used to personally come here regularly. For mere 15 days, I could not visit the house personally. In between, the miscreants committed the theft. I request the state government to ensure that my belongings are returned back to me.”
Palwinder Singh, SHO of the Kapurthala City police station, said: “We received information from Harbhajan Singh Virdi this morning that his ancestral home at Sheikhupur village had been robbed. The house lies in front of a stable where family had kept horses of some of the finest breeds brought from abroad. The family used to visit the house rarely. Virdi (Harbhajan) hadn’t visited the house since long. The exact date of the robbery is not known yet.”
The SHO said: “Among the goods stolen from the house included ACs, motors, utensils of brass and steel, among others. We are not aware whether any gold or silver belongings were there at the house or not. Investigation is on and efforts all being made to nab the thieves.”
