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Exclusive | Archana Gautam on cafe robbery: Police asked me not to release CCTV footage after cafe burglary
Actor Archana Gautam tells us, how the police is get to catch the thief, and that her cafe was robbed of a huge amount
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Actor Archana Gautam, who shared CCTV footage of the burglary at her Versova-based cafe Oye Churros on Instagram on Tuesday, has now revealed to us that the incident occurred on the intervening night of October 1 and 2. Gautam, who was in Lonavala at the time, was first informed by her staff about the cafe’s entire cash counter being stolen along with the cash kept inside it.
“There was around ₹20,000 to ₹25,000 in the cash counter. And the cash counter itself was worth nearly ₹50,000,” she says. What alarmed her further was seeing the thief carrying a large stick. “He had brought a stick and slept outside at night. After that, he committed the theft during the day. He had planned it and taken full care of when he could do it and when the right time would be,” Gautam explains.
She adds that the weapon made the incident even more concerning. “He had brought such a big stick that if anyone caught him, he could kill them,” she says.
While she filed an FIR at Versova police station after the incident, the actor was advised not to release any footage on social media. “The police had told me not to tell anyone; they also asked me not to release the CCTV footage online, because if the video was posted, the thief could run away,” she says. However, with the thief still not caught several days later, Gautam decided to share his photograph.
“If the thief had to be found, he would have been found in a day or two. It has been several days now,” she says, adding, “I have called the police and they said they are investigating. We have also posted his photo.”
For Gautam, sharing the footage was also an attempt to seek help from the public. “It’s not that I will sit hand in hand. Releasing the CCTV footage was my way of asking fans and people around me if they had any clues about who this thief could be. At least, who knows, someone may know him, kisi ke paas koi clue hoga,” she ends.
