The investigation led the police to a house at Raj Nagar in Ghaziabad (Representational)
A 35-year-old protective service officer (PSO) of a businessman was arrested for allegedly stealing Rs 20 lakh and an SUV of his employer in north Delhi's Shastri Nagar area, police said.
The accused has been identified as Nikhil Goswami, a resident of Raj Nagar in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.
On February 15, Manoj Jain informed the police that his PSO Goswami had decamped with his Rs 20 lakh cash and SUV from near Shastri Nagar metro station.
Mr Jain's driver Vipin Kumar told the police that his employer had asked him to accompany Mr Goswami to Pitampura to collect Rs 20 lakh from a person.
According to Mr Kumar, while returning, Goswami was driving the car. When they neared Shastri Nagar metro station, Mr Kumar asked him to stop the car so he could relieve himself.
As soon as he got off the car, Goswami drove off, a senior police officer said citing Kumar.
The investigation led the police to a house at Raj Nagar in Ghaziabad, where they found the SUV. However, the flat was locked from outside, the officer said.
The police continued surveillance for a couple of days and caught him on Sunday, Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Sagar Singh Kalsi said.
Besides the SUV, they recovered Rs 17.6 lakh of the stolen amount from the accused, he said.
Goswami, who holds B.Tech in mechanical engineering, had been living with a woman following a strained relationship with his wife.
He began working as Jain's PSO last year as he was having a revolver licence, the DCP said.
Goswami was in debt and was in need of money. After decamping with the cash, he went to Manali with his girlfriend, her sister and brother-in-law, police said.
They booked two suits for Rs 25,000 per day in Manali and stayed there for a couple of days. For the next three days, he had been living in a rented apartment. He had also purchased two mobile phones in Manali, police said.
On Sunday, he arrived at the Raj Nagar flat to take his belongings and the SUV, and was arrested, they said.