According to the complainant, his wife’s handbag was stolen during the wedding ceremony of his son with the daughter of a Principal Secretary in the Government of Uttar Pradesh.

In his complaint, Uday Kumar Varma, Secretary, Government of India, Ministry of I&B said: “During the ceremony, around 1 pm, my wife left her handbag unattended at the venue — 5, Ashoka Road. It lay unattended only for about one or two minutes, and it was in this period that the incident occurred.”

Varma’s complaint said, “People identified a small, well dressed boy walking away with the bag. Some also said that the boy was wearing the uniform worn by the marriage band members. The boy would have been roughly in the age group of 8 to 10 years.”

Varma claimed the bag contained Rs 20,000 in cash, two gold mangalsutras, a necklace and a pair of earrings.

A senior police officer said, “This modus operandi is common. These days a few gangs use children to commit such crimes. They are trained to grab valuables and flee as fast as they can. Also, if apprehended, they know the punishment isn’t severe for juveniles.”

A case of theft, under Section 380 IPC, has been registered and investigation is on.

Last week, a woman reported a theft at another wedding function at the community hall in South Delhi’s Sarojini Nagar area.

In her complaint, Mayawati Singh alleged that she was talking to her guests and had kept her bag on a sofa next to her. “Just then, a boy walked up to where I was standing and when I was less attentive towards the bag, he took it and walked away,” she said in her police complaint.