A watchman working for a housing society behind the Ulhasnagar branch of Mannapuram Gold Loan fled with 35 kg of gold worth Rs 9 crore on Sunday night, after making several holes over the course of two days to gain entry
The Mannapuram Gold Loan branch in Ulhasnagar
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This crime is literally a hole in the wall. A watchman working for a housing society behind the Ulhasnagar branch of Mannapuram Gold Loan fled with 35 kg of gold worth Rs 9 crore on Sunday night, after making several holes over the course of two days to gain entry. The former and current watchmen of the housing society are prime suspects.
The watchman first made a hole in the shared wall of the society’s water pump room and the branch’s toilet (right) He then cut holes into the safety vault with gas cutters to steal the gold
Water pump to loo
Cops said the branch of the gold loaning agency is located in Sai Krupa Palace housing society, and right behind it is a staircase to enter the building. “Under the staircase is a small area housing the water pump. The watchman of building, who is a suspect and has fled, made a hole from the water-pump room to the toilet of the branch,” said Surendra Shirsat, senior police inspector of Vithalwadi police station.
Also read: Watchman robs Rs 80 lakh, offers Rs 11,000 at Dargah
The watchman entered the branch from the toilet and then went to the safety vault that had the gold. Just then, the security alarm on the vault beeped and reached Mannapuram’s vigilance department in Thane. Officers from the department reached the branch. “We saw the locks were intact from outside and as we don’t have keys, we thought a dog might have hit the shutter. Since the locks were intact, we left,” said a vigilance department officer.
Thieving brothers
The prime suspects are Deepak Thapa and his cousin Mansingh Thapa. Deepak was employed as watchman after Mansingh left in the first week of December to get married. Deepak is now absconding and both the brothers’ phones are switched off. A team of Thane police has left for Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, from where the brothers might enter Nepal. The police are also keeping an eye on all trains leaving for the states. But, finding the duo could be tough, as they do not have any photo, neither can they be spotted on CCTV, as the camera’s wire was cut at the time of the theft.
FIR registered
The Vitthalwadi police station registered an FIR against Deepak and Mansingh Thapa under Section 454 (house-trespass or house-breaking) and 380 (theft) of the IPC.
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