The Kandivali police arrested a 27-year-old man within 24 hours of allegedly stealing gold worth ₹8.64 lakh from his employer's jewellery shop. The accused, who was identified as Hanif Malik, stole the valuables to clear a huge debt, the police said.
On June 13, complainant Chandna Guriya, 43, received a call from his husband's shop. One of the staffers told her that Malik had gone for tea break, but didn't return. Around 216 gm of gold was missing, too, the caller said, adding that they tried to reach out to Malik, but in vain.
Immediately, Guriya approached the police who started a probe following the registration of a first information report (FIR). The cops tried to trace the accused but his phone was switched off, prompting them to tap into their human intelligence resources.
Technical investigation helped the police in nabbing accused
Senior Inspector Sandeep Vishwasrao said, “After receiving a tip-off that he previously worked in Ahmedabad, we tried to look for him there, but couldn't find him. Still, we continued the search in Gujarat and finally managed to nab him from a Surat building, with the help of technical investigation. Stolen booty was also recovered from him.”
During interrogation, the accused revealed that he committed the theft to pay off his debt. A case has been registered against him under section 381 (theft by clerk or servant) of the Indian Penal Code. He has been sent to judicial custody.
