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Milkman cracks digital lock password, steals ₹1.32 lakh from flat; held
Police have identified the accused as Venkatesh Vasant Karande, 34, of Jai Vishwakarma Society in Wadgaon Sheri who daily delivered milk to the complainant’s residence.
Pune: The police have arrested a milkman for allegedly stealing cash from the residence of a cafe owner in an upscale housing society in Viman Nagar.
The theft of ₹1,32,550 was reported at a flat on the fifth floor of Eminence by Naiknavare, a residential complex on New Airport Road on January 17.
Police have identified the accused as Venkatesh Vasant Karande, 34, of Jai Vishwakarma Society in Wadgaon Sheri who daily delivered milk to the complainant’s residence.
The complainant, Suryanarayan Rajartilam, 48, who runs the Rameshwaram Cafe in Viman Nagar, lives in the rented flat with his family. According to the complaint, Rajartilam left home around 5 am on January 17 to go to his restaurant. The house has a digital door lock operated through a password.
When he returned at around 7 am, he found his family members asleep. On opening a cupboard in the kitchen to take cash, he noticed that ₹1,32,550 was missing. None of the family members were aware of the theft.
With the help of the society’s security staff, Rajartilam checked CCTV footage, which showed the milkman entering the flat around 6.28 am. He collected the accused’s details from the security office and approached the police.
Somay Munde, deputy commissioner of police (Zone 4), said the accused was arrested on January 18 and ₹1.32 lakh was recovered from his possession.
Senior inspector Govind Jadhav of Vimantal Police Station said the accused had been delivering milk in the society for the past two years. “He had been attempting to breach the digital lock by guessing the password for several weeks, and cracked it on January 17,” Jadhav said.
Police said analysis of fingerprints on the keypad showed that the accused had made multiple attempts to gain unauthorised access.
Sharad Shelke, police inspector (crime), Vimantal Police Station, said the accused has no previous criminal record. “We are investigating whether he attempted similar thefts in other housing societies,” he said.
Police recovered 243 currency notes of ₹500, 104 notes of ₹100, three notes of ₹200 and one note of ₹50, amounting to ₹1,32,550.
Police have filed a case under Sections 331(3) and 305 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
