Domestic helps, painters detained in Rs 45-lakh theft

27 June,2013 06:47 AM IST |   |  Shiva Devnath

Oshiwara police suspect that the house break-in at Lokhandwala was an insider job; detain five people for questioning


In a case of daylight robbery, gold ornaments worth Rs 45 lakh and cash worth Rs 35,000 were stolen from a Lokhandwala house that belongs to a diamond trader. The Oshiwara police has registered a case of housebreaking and detained five people: three domestic helps and two painters, who were working on the house.


Sandhya Shah shows the wardrobes in her house that were pillaged on Tuesday afternoon

According to police officials, complainant Sandhya Shah lives on the sixth floor of Accord building in the plush locality of Lokhandwala with her husband, who is currently in Gujarat on business. On Wednesday afternoon, Sandhya went to meet her daughter in Juhu and returned home at 5.30 pm. Her daughter was also accompanying her. When she went towards the kitchen she saw that the cupboard's door, where the jewellery was kept inside a locker, was ajar.

Upon examination she realised that ornaments, mostly diamond jewellery, was missing. Primary investigation pointed at an insider's hand in the crime. "I have told the cops that our servants knew where we used to keep the keys of the cupboard. We are yet to find out other things that are missing, since my husband knows about them and he is not here," Shah said.

During interrogation, one of the domestic helps revealed that he used to keep a duplicate key with himself but lost it a few weeks ago. The house was undergoing renovation at the time, and two painters have been taken in for questioning. Police Inspector Baburao Mukhedkar, said, "Primary investigation revealed that an insider must be involved in the crime. We registered a case under several sections of the Indian Penal Code and the matter is under investigation."

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