Ahmedabad, July 26 (IANS) The Ahmedabad Police have solved a Rs 20 lakh house-breaking theft reported in the Kalupur area within hours of the case being registered, arresting a 37-year-old suspect at Kalupur Railway Station while he was allegedly attempting to leave Gujarat with part of the stolen cash.
The burglary took place between 6 p.m. on July 24 and 7 a.m. on July 25 at R.M. Handloom House, Shop No. 3, Sadhu Vaswani Mansion in Sindhi Market, Revdi Bazar.
According to police, the accused allegedly pulled the shop’s left-side shutter away from the wall, entered the premises and stole around Rs 20 lakh in cash from an unlocked safe inside the shop.
Following the complaint, Kalupur Police Station registered a complaint under Sections 305, 331(3) and 331(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
Considering the seriousness of the offence, Ahmedabad Police Commissioner Anupam Singh Gahlaut and Joint Commissioner of Police (Sector-1) Neeraj Badgujar directed that the case be investigated on priority.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone-3) Rupal Solanki supervised the investigation and instructed the Local Crime Branch (LCB) Zone-3 to detect the offence at the earliest.
Working under the supervision of DCP Solanki, Police Sub-Inspector V.H. Rathod led multiple LCB teams that collected and analysed CCTV footage from the crime scene and surrounding areas.
Investigators also carried out technical analysis to trace the suspect’s movements before and after the burglary.
Police said the breakthrough came through a combination of CCTV footage, technical data and human intelligence, which indicated that the suspect was carrying the stolen cash in a bag and was preparing to leave the state from Kalupur Railway Station.
Acting on the information, the LCB team intercepted the suspect outside the station entrance on Sunday and arrested him.
The arrested accused has been identified as Sabir alias Chhotu Sheikh, 37. He is currently residing in a tin-roof dwelling at Shihori Market in Kalupur area of Ahmedabad and is originally from Hajipur village in Hooghly district of West Bengal.
Police recovered Rs 14 lakh in cash and a mobile phone valued at Rs 10,000, taking the total value of recovered property to Rs 14.10 lakh.
“The accused had come to Ahmedabad around six to seven months ago through an acquaintance from his native village. He frequently visited the complainant’s shop to purchase handkerchiefs and, during those visits, noticed that large amounts of cash were kept in the shop’s safe,” officials said.
Investigators alleged that he planned the theft because he needed money for his grandmother’s medical treatment.
Police said the accused took advantage of rainy weather to conceal his identity by wearing a raincoat and covering his face.
“At around 3 a.m., he used an iron rod to pull the shop shutter away from the wall, lifted it sufficiently to enter the premises and stole the cash from the safe,” officials said.
Investigators further said the accused has a previous criminal record in West Bengal, having been arrested earlier in two theft cases registered at Dhaniakhali Police Station and one theft case registered at Gurap Police Station.
The investigation is continuing to recover the remaining stolen amount and complete further legal proceedings.
–IANS
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