A 19-year-old man in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur district allegedly stole 15 tolas (around 150 grams) of gold jewellery from his uncle’s house, sold it for Rs 10 lakh and used the money to purchase a Mahindra Thar.
In a bizarre turn of events, the accused, identified as Samar Popat Chavan, even invited his uncle to perform the puja for the new vehicle. The Kodoli police have arrested Chavan and a local goldsmith in connection with the theft.
The incident took place in Satve village of Kolhapur district, where Chavan allegedly stole the jewellery belonging to his uncle, Umesh Maruti Chavan, about a month ago. The two relatives live in the same village, with Umesh residing nearby.
According to the details shared by the cops, Chavan allegedly took 15 tolas of gold ornaments from his uncle’s house and sold them for Rs 10 lakh with the assistance of local goldsmith Sangram Babaso More. He subsequently used the proceeds to purchase a new Mahindra Thar, an SUV brand especially popular among youngsters in India.
After bringing the vehicle home, the accused invited Umesh to perform the puja organised to welcome the new Thar.
However, the occasion took an unexpected turn when Umesh went to look for his gold jewellery and discovered that it was missing.
The ornaments belonging to Umesh and his wife had disappeared, while the jewellery belonging to his grandmother, which was kept nearby, remained untouched.
This prompted suspicions that the theft could have been carried out by someone familiar with the family and its household arrangements.
Two days before the police action, Umesh lodged a complaint at Kodoli Police Station, following which the police initiated an investigation into the theft.
POLICE PROBE LEADS TO ARRESTS
During the investigation, the police reportedly noticed that Chavan had suddenly acquired the money needed to purchase an expensive vehicle.
This raised suspicion, and after further questioning, Samar confessed that he indeed stole the ornaments.
The police subsequently took Chavan and goldsmith Sangram More into custody for their alleged roles in the case.
The police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the theft, the sale of the stolen ornaments and the movement of the proceeds.
Further investigation is expected to establish the complete sequence of events and determine the respective roles of the two arrested accused.
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