Mumbai: Unidentified thief breaks into finance firm at Pydhonie, steals cash, gold worth Rs 19.63 lakh

Representational pic

An unidentified thief recently stole a vault containing gold jewelry and cash, worth around Rs 19.63 lakh, from a private finance firm in Pydhonie area of Mumbai.

The police have filed a case against an unknown person and launched a probe into the theft. They are relying on the CCTV footage of the firm to track down the suspect.

According to Mumbai Police, Ramchandra Sakharam Pawar, a resident of Maharashtra Nagar in Mankhurd, serves as a manager at Hanuman Nagari Patpedhi Limited, the finance firm located on Samuel Street. The firm, which employs five staff members, is chaired by Shankar Kisan Pawar. It provides loans to clients against pledged gold, which is typically stored securely in a private bank in Bhuleshwar. However, owing to an upcoming audit, all the gold assets were temporarily brought back to the office for July 2024's scheduled checks. After the audit, the gold, alongside other cash reserves, was stored in the firm's vault. This included approximately 250 grams (25 tolas) of gold valued at Rs 18.5 lakh and cash worth Rs 1.13 lakh.

On October 30, the employees secured the office before leaving for the night. On arriving at the firm the following morning, one of the employees, Sanjay Bajirao Chavan, found the office in disarray, with files scattered across the floor and the vault missing. On checking the premises, the employees discovered that three bars on the grill of the rear window had been cut, suggesting the entry point of the thief.

Upon discovering the theft, Pawar immediately informed Mumbai Police. Officers arrived at the scene promptly and, based on Pawar's report, filed a theft case against an unidentified individual. The police have since seized CCTV footage from the finance firm and its nearby locations and launched a search operation to identify and apprehend the accused.