Two held in Rs 1 crore worth gold theft in Hyderabad
Investigation by the Panjagutta police revealed that Gulab Mali was the main conspirator
HYDERABAD: The Panjagutta police on Friday arrested two offenders who committed theft of gold ornaments worth Rs 1 crore. The arrested accused were identified as Gulab Mali and his associate Pravin Kumar.
According to the complainant Shravan Kumar Gehlot, a jewellery shop owner from Mumbai, he was supplying gold ornaments to jewellery shops in and around Hyderabad through his employees after taking orders by showing them sample designs.
Hyderabad police commissioner Anjani Kumar said on August 23 the complainant sent his nephew Mukesh Parihar along with his trusted employee Gulab Mali with gold to supply to jewellers in Hyderabad. The ornaments were in the custody of Gulab Mali and they boarded a bus from Mumbai. The next day, Mukesh Parihar called Shravan Kumar Gehlot and informed him that gold ornaments were allegedly stolen by an unknown person, following which the complainant reached Hyderabad and lodged a complaint with Saidabad police, who transferred the case to the Panjagutta police. The police booked a case and started an investigation.
Investigation by the Panjagutta police revealed that Gulab Mali was the main conspirator. He invested huge amounts of money in trading and lost money. His income was not sufficient to fulfil his lavish desires, so he hatched a plan to commit the theft of gold ornaments, the police said.
"According to the plan, he asked his associate Pravin Kumar to board the same bus which they boarded from Pune city without taking the ticket. Gulab Mali handed over the gold ornaments to Pravin Kumar and consumed some sleeping pills. When he woke up at Ameerpet the next morning, he pretended as if someone had stolen the bag containing gold ornaments from him while he was in deep sleep," said Anjani Kumar.
Meanwhile, Pravin Kumar mortgaged 69.150 grams of gold ornaments at ICICI Bank, Sumerpur Branch, Sheon Gunj for Rs 2 lakh and spent the amount for his lavish desires.
Acting on a tipoff, the staff of Panjagutta police station apprehended the accused persons near Lalitha Jewellery, Monappa Circle, Panjagutta, Hyderabad, along with the stolen jewellery on Friday and sent them to judicial custody.