Gang steals jewellery worth ₹1.68 crore from bus

THANE: Thieves stole a bag with ₹1.68 crore in jewellery and ₹2 lakh cash from a bus on the Mumbai-Nashik Highway; police are investigating.

THANE: A gang of thieves stole a bag containing jewellery worth ₹1.68 crore and ₹2 lakh in cash from a bus near Umbarmali village on the Mumbai-Nashik Highway in Shahapur taluka, where the bus had halted for a tea break. The bus driver noticed the theft and tried to chase the thieves, who fled in a car, but failed to stop them.

Gang steals jewellery worth ₹1.68 crore from bus

The Kasara police have registered a case against the unidentified thieves based on a complaint from the jewellery trader and launched a search for the gang.

Kiran Kumar Purohit, a 44-year-old jewellery trader from Bhayander East, manufactures and sells gold and silver ornaments. On Friday, he visited Shrirampur, Loni, Kopargaon, Rahata and Sangamner in Ahmednagar district to sell mangalsutras and other gold ornaments. After completing his sales, he packed the remaining jewellery and the cash in the bag and was returning home when the incident took place.

According to Kasara police, on Saturday night, Kiran Kumar boarded a Nashik-Borivali Shivshahi bus. Around 1:30am, the bus stopped at Hotel Famous on the Mumbai-Nashik Highway near Umbarmali village for a tea break. Kiran Kumar left his bag on his seat and got off the bus to buy a bottle of water. The thieves, who were traveling in the same bus, stole the bag and fled toward Mumbai in a car that apparently was tailing the bus.

The bus conductor noticed the theft and informed Kiran Kumar who immediately alerted the driver. The bus driver then began chasing the thieves’ car on the highway. For almost 15 minutes, the bus driver tried to chase them but could not match the car’s speed. He, however, noted down the vehicle number and police are now trying to trace the owner of the vehicle and identify the thieves.

After Kiran Kumar reported the theft at the Kasara police station, inspector Suresh Gavit and his team started the investigation by examining CCTV footage from the highway and the crime scene. “We were able to get details of at least some of the accused involved in the theft. We will soon arrest them,” Gavit said.