Burglars are reported to have singled out several households owned by Indian families in Edinburgh, Livingston, and Midlothian for valuable pieces of jewellery, leaving other goods like electronics and art untouched.
Members of the community believe these burglaries to have been highly orchestrated, taking place during short windows where every member of the family would be out of the house.
Police confirmed that they have been contacted about the burglaries and enquiries are ongoing.
A room in Rajnish’s house was turned upside down by burglars
The victims, however, are not confident that their jewellery will be returned or the perpetrators apprehended.
They have called for more strident action from police and the government to prevent further robberies, and ensure the Indian community can feel safe in Edinburgh.
Rajnish Singh, who heads Edinburgh Diwali and lives in Silverknowes, described the robbery at his home on 8 June:
“These are quite sophisticated burglaries. I had a community organisation meeting in Glasgow, and I left at around 9.45am and came back home at 2pm – four hours and that was it, the jewellery was gone.”
“They had not taken any laptops, watches or speakers, so somehow they must have known [about the jewellery]. In my case, they smashed some of the drawers and the wardrobe was pulled out in the search.”
Rajnish Singh is the president of Edinburgh Diwali, Chair of BEMIS (Formerly, Black and Ethnic Minority Infrastructure in Scotland), and works as an IT Consultant © 2023 Martin McAdam
Images of the scene following the robbery showed furniture, drawers and clothes strewn around a room tipped upside down, and a patio door taken entirely off its hinges.
Rajnish added that one neighbour had been able to catch the burglars on CCTV, but it had not been enough to trace the perpetrators, and different attempts to track the various vehicles driven by the thieves had yielded no results.
He described similar incidents in which friends of his were robbed during the school run, and an entire safe was taken from a property in Livingston. Another property on his road was burgled on the same day.
“It beggars belief that they can be taking chances, they must just be earmarking [the properties],” he added.
“Some of this jewellery has a lot of sentimental value – in my case, those pieces were given to my wife as part of her wedding gift, and to my youngest daughter, when she was born, on her first visit to India.”
A patio door at Rajnish’s house was taken entirely out of its frame
He described the fear that has now gripped the community: “It is very scary for people. People are very, very nervous, even if they come out and meet.
“I was there at a community meeting on Sunday, and everybody had this in mind, everybody thinks that we should be raising it, so I’ve written it to the MSPs, MPs, and the Chief Constable’s Office.”
Some have even taken preventative measures: “Many people have started using private lockers, but they only cover up to £10,000 in terms of insurance, so after that you’ll have to take your own insurance, so this is additional cost.
“Everyone is becoming careful, some of them are even going to the lengths of sending it [the jewellery] back to India.
“Some of them are making sure that they are not leaving their house vacant at any point, and sometimes when people have to leave, they are leaving with a sense of nervousness.
“People are switching on alarms, even if they’re going out for 15 minutes, which is quite a painful thing, it’s time-consuming, and means people can’t have peace of mind.
“The community is full of professionals: doctors, IT people, business owners – very law-abiding people.”
Rajnish said that he would like to see focused, widespread efforts to tackle the issue, rather than police treating each instance like an individual crime.
He explained: “12-13 years back, there were similar instances, and I was part of the small delegation that went and met the Chief Constable and expressed our concern – after that a taskforce was set up.
“We understand that, after that, they managed to track down some of the perpetrators, and the situation definitely improved.”
Another Indian man, whose property in Rosewell was robbed on 10 June, described the fear gripping the Indian community at the moment:
“All Indian people in Edinburgh are living in fear. My daughter, when she saw the state of the house, was so scared.”
He had left the house at around 8:45 to take his daughter to school and returned at around 9:50 to find his house turned upside down and valuable jewellery gone. He estimates, based on CCTV footage, the robbery may have only taken around 15 minutes.
“We need some kind of reassurance that action is being taken, otherwise how can we feel safe?
“How can Indian families have confidence that the government will look out for us?”
He said the same thing had occurred to so many of his friends, and echoed Rajnish’s calls for a taskforce or concerted police effort.
Police did not confirm at this stage whether they believe these crimes to be related, or whether they may have been perpetrated by the same people.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “On Monday, 8 June, 2026, officers received reports of break-ins at two properties on Lauriston Farm Road, Edinburgh.
“On Wednesday, 10 June, 2026, officers received a report of a break-in on Archibald Hood Crescent, Rosewell.
“Enquiries are ongoing.”
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