Carmichael Road theft: Maid among 5 held; ₹1.7-crore stolen booty recovered

The accused – identified as Abdul Munaf Taufiq Shaikh, 38 and Milen Suren, 37, were the domestic help – and Hasmukh Bagda, Naseruddin Shaikh and Sangita Kamble are three jewellery brokers who helped the duo to sell the stolen booty.

Mumbai: Five people were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly stealing jewellery worth ₹1.98 crore from the house of the managing director of NTT Limited, a global technology and business solutions provider. The cops have recovered jewellery worth ₹1.71 crore.

“Shaikh had asked her wife to steal from the house and accordingly she stole valuables from the bedroom cupboard every day and handed it over to him,” said Shashikant Yadav, acting in charge of the Gamdevi Police Station. He added that the husband of the maid with the help of Bagda, Naseruddin and Kamble sold the stolen gold and diamond jewellery to various people. (HT PHOTO)

The accused – identified as Abdul Munaf Taufiq Shaikh, 38 and Milen Suren, 37, were the domestic help – and Hasmukh Bagda, Naseruddin Shaikh and Sangita Kamble are three jewellery brokers who helped the duo to sell the stolen booty.

On April 14, Sharad Sanghi – the managing director of NTT Limited and a resident of Carmichael Road – lodged a complaint. As per the complaint, Sanghi’s wife was going to a function on April 14 and wanted to wear some jewellery, however, she realised some of the items were missing. She then questioned three of her domestic help and suspected Suren – who was working with them for two years – in the matter.

The missing valuables included a watch, diamond bracelet, diamond ring, necklace, earrings and gold chains, said a police officer, adding, “Suren, who hails from Odisha, was suspected to be stealing jewellery from the bedroom locker of the family over a period and when the family realised, they filed a complaint with us.”

After the police questioned Suren they reached her husband Shaikh, with whom she had got married in January this year and the couple had started staying together in Mahim.

“Shaikh had asked her wife to steal from the house and accordingly she stole valuables from the bedroom cupboard every day and handed it over to him,” said Shashikant Yadav, acting in charge of the Gamdevi Police Station. He added that the husband of the maid with the help of Bagda, Naseruddin and Kamble sold the stolen gold and diamond jewellery to various people.

“We have recovered most of the stolen jewellery, worth around ₹1.71 crore and are searching for one more accused,” said Yadav.

“The woman had started stealing the valuables from February this year – a month after her marriage. It was a well-planned theft. Then they sold the stolen booty with the help of various brokers in jewellery markets and melted some golden ornaments to sell the raw gold,” said additional commissioner of police, South Region, Abhinav Deshmukh.