Two persons were arrested on Thursday in connection with the theft of more than Rs 4 lakh from a godown in Chandni Chowk on February 7.

The two were picked up from their ancestral homes in Murshidabad and East Midnapore. Around Rs 1.23 lakh of the stolen money was recovered from them.

Deputy commissioner of police (detective department) Gyanwant Singh said the incident took place late on February 7. “A gang of four broke into the godown of electronic goods and decamped with Rs 4.55 lakh kept in one of the locked drawers. They also stole an expensive watch.”

Officers of the detective department first thought a local gang was behind the theft, said to be “one of the biggest” in the city in recent times. “But we soon realised our mistake and changed the line of our probe,” said Singh.

The deputy commissioner then set up four teams, comprising officers from the anti-burglary squad, to trace the burglars.

“We came to know that the burglars were from the districts and accordingly, started raids on hideouts across the state,” said an officer of the detective department.

The tip-off came a couple of days ago. “We came to know that one member of the gang, Mohammad Masuk Khan, would soon visit his home in Murshidabad. A team of officers rushed there and lay in wait for him. The moment he reached home, he was picked up,” Singh recalled.

Grilling Khan, the sleuths learnt about Sheikh Salim and arrested him in East Midnapore.

“Salim confessed during interrogation that he was a member of the gang that had broken into the godown,” said another officer. “Our hunt is on for the other two burglars. We hope to pick them up soon.”