Minor thieves stole a Rs 17 lakh Rolex watch from a Congress minister's house in posh Gomti Nagar area in Lucknow and then sold it to a panwaala in merely Rs 100.

According to a report in Amarujala, in addition, they broke another watch worth Rs 12 lakh and sold it to a junkyard owner. They were caught by a colony resident Vijay Singh who saw them attempting to break into another house by cutting the AC wire.

"All the kids, aged between 12 to 15 years, hailed from Badi Jugauli area. They would usually target empty houses," said police.

Ballia's Piyush Mishra, a Congress minister, didn't visit his house in Nehru enclave frequently. During interrogation, the thieves revealed that they knew the house was empty. They broke the windows panes to enter the house and stole watches, camera, gold chains and rings.

Not knowing the worth of the valuables, they sold all the items to wage workers at dirt cheap prices. On their details, all the items have been recovered, police said, adding that two kids have also been sent to child reform centre for counselling.

"They would steal bathroom fittings, tap, aluminium wires from houses and sell it to junkyard in exchange for money," they added.