Mumbai Crime: Masked men steal cash, gold worth Rs 25.7 lakh from producer’s home

The duo allegedly caught hold of the helper and, brandishing a pistol, pushed him into the kitchen. Representation pic

Two unknown miscreants allegedly stole Rs 25.35 lakh in cash and gold ornaments worth Rs 35,000 from the home of TV serial producer-director Santosh Ravishankar Gupta in Goregaon West on Sunday afternoon. According to Bangur Nagar police, Gupta, 51, resides at Dhiraj Residency near Oshiwara bus depot on New Link Road along with his helper Vikas Chaudhary, who prepares his meals and executes his office work.

Around 1.28 pm on Sunday, when Gupta was out on work with his office staffer Jaysingh Rathod, Chaudhary called him, claiming that two masked men had entered the house. The duo had allegedly caught hold of Chaudhary and, brandishing a pistol, pushed him into the kitchen after tying his hand and mouth. They then allegedly broke the door of the bedroom and grabbed cash and valuables from the cupboard.

Also Read: Kochhars' arrests not as per law, says HC while granting bail

As per the statement given to the police, Gupta called his neighbour and asked him to look into the matter. "On the complaint of Gupta, we have registered the case under Sections 34 (common intention), 392 (robbery) and 454 (house trespass) of the IPC and various sections of the Arms Act," a cop said.

Gupta hails from Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh and has been staying at Dhiraj Residency for five years. Chaudhary's home state is Jharkhand and he has been working for Gupta for four years. "We checked the CCTV footage of the building and nearby premises. Senior officials visited the spot and are probing the matter from every angle. Chaudhary is also being interrogated," said another police officer.

08
Day in January when incident occurred