Gold stolen from Ludhiana’s Chaura Bazaar.

Ludhiana: A thief used a classic distraction technique to steal a five-tola gold jewellery set from a Chaura Bazaar store on Tuesday.The suspect had scouted the Pindi Street business the previous day, pretending to select a high-value item for purchase. Upon returning, he engaged the owner, Aatma Prakash, in conversation and requested a cold drink, prompting Prakash to send his sole employee out to buy one.The moment the worker left, the suspect grabbed the gold set and fled. Prakash provided CCTV footage of the premeditated theft to Ludhiana police, who are now scanning security recordings to identify the fugitive.