In one of the biggest thefts, around five persons allegedly broke into a gold finance loan shop in Ulhasnagar in Thane, by creating cavities in the building from the bathroom on the night of December 25, 2016. The Thane police suspect 30kg gold worth more than Rs 9 crore missing. A case of robbery has been registered at Vithalwadi police station.
The unidentified accused used gas cutters to enter the Manappuram Finance company's branch located at Shankar Krupa Palace building near Lal Chowki Area camp 4. The police was informed next morning when the security guard and the officials noticed the cavities behind the building.
Branch manager Sagar Pikhande said, "We are ascertaining the total amount which is missing from the safety locker and have given the CCTV camera data to the police for further investigation".
The Thane police department has formed teams to nab the thieves. "We have come to know that a watchman was employed in the building but has been missing since few days. We are now speaking to the committee to verify the details of the person", said a police officer.
"Heavy gas cutters have been used to cut the safety locker. The accused seem to be experts in drilling holes and have knowledge of gas cutting equipments and lockers," said the officer.
Suspecting the role of an insider, Sunil Bharadwaj, DCP Zone IV, said, "The culprits knew the place well as they used the gas cutters only on the weaker portions of the building. They knew that the building's backside was an easy access to go inside."
"We have registered a case under Sections 454 (House breaking), 547 (House breaking at night to commit offence) and 380 (Theft) of the Indian Penal Code against the unidentified thieves. We are probing various angles in the case and are checking the CCTV footage to identify the thieves," said Bharadwaj.
"The company officials will give us a detailed report from their Head office about the total gold missing and its value," he added.
