Police arrest 10, recover stolen gold, cash worth ₹7.12 cr

As many as 10 people have been arrested from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan for stealing 17.4 kg of gold ornaments and ₹ 8.57 lakh from a jewellery store

Mumbai As many as 10 people have been arrested from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan for stealing 17.4 kg of gold ornaments and ₹ 8.57 lakh from a jewellery store. The Mumbai police claimed to have recovered 89 per cent of the stolen booty worth ₹ 7.12 crore from the accused.

The Mumbai police claimed to have recovered 89 per cent of the stolen booty worth ₹ 7.12 crore from the accused. (HT File)

According to police, Ganesh Devashi, the 21-year-old main accused, was hired by the jeweller six months ago.

According to the police, the complainant Khushal Rashiklal Tamaka’s (48) office is in Bhuleshwar, while his jewellery making unit is in Goregaon. He had brought the latest designs for an exhibition and kept the ornaments at his office locker.

Subsequently, the exhibition was cancelled due to Covid and his father also died, because of which he could not come to the office for a week. Due to this, he gave a key to the jewellery locker to Ganesh.

Police said that Devashi was aware of the jewellery and he discussed it with his friend Ramesh Prajapati and they allegedly hatched a plan. Ramesh was planning to marry as his family members had found a suitable girl for him. He required the money and hence, wanted to be a part of the theft.

The officers said at about midnight on January 14, Prajapati, Devashi, Turibhat and two other accused opened the locker and kept 17.4 kilograms of gold jewellery, cash ₹ 8.57 lakh in a bag. They also removed the CCTV camera, the DVR and left the office at about 1:30 am.

The incident came to light when Tamaka went to the office the next morning. On the basis of a complaint, a case was registered in the LT Marg police station.

“We made six teams from LT Marg and other police stations in zone 2. Five accused were captured in the CCTV footage installed at the neighbouring shop. We got a link and on the basis of technical evidence, we managed to arrest the first person - Prajapati. We recovered gold ornaments worth ₹ 4.15 crore and some cash from him,” said joint commissioner of police Vishwas Nangre Patil.

Prajapati then confessed to the crime and based on the leads given by him, the others were arrested.

Two accused are still wanted in the case and police teams are trying to track them as well. “We will nab them soon and will recover the rest of the booty,” said additional commissioner of police Dilip Sawant of the south region.

“The police teams worked continuously for 10 days to solve the case. It was a well-coordinated effort between the teams on fields in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and the technical support team in Mumbai,” added Sawant.