Mumbai: Rs 2.6 crore complainant theft turns accused

MUMBAI: A 24-year-old has been arrested for theft and filing a false complaint blaming the crime on others. Kamlesh Lohar told the police that his uncle's jewellery shop in Andheri (East), where he was employed as an in-charge, had been robbed by four men. Finding his account suspicious, especially given a turnaround in his fortunes, the uncle made the police keep tabs on him and found that he, along with his father Sohamlal (52) and elder brother Rakesh (30), committed the crime (in May). The booty was 10kg of gold worth Rs 2.61 crore (the price is as per the metal's purity) and Rs 3.5 lakh in cash.

To show it as a case of robbery, Kamlesh hired four men and made them spray a chemical on his face, making him lose consciousness, the police said.

"Kamlesh's family were in debt on account of losses incurred in their own jewellery business. They have a shop at Goregaon," said an officer from the MIDC police station. "After the theft, the family retrieved jewellery worth over Rs7 lakh that they had to mortgage about five years ago. While tracking Kamlesh's movements, we found that he and his family had restarted their jewellery shop during Diwali. We found that they had purchased jewellery in bulk, which was richly displayed in the shop."

Kamlesh, his father and elder brother were picked up on Monday. During their interrogation, they claimed they got the money to restart their business after selling property in Rajasthan. But when the MIDC police contacted their counterparts in the Rajasthani village the three mentioned, the story failed to check out. "Upon being grilled further, they lost nerve and confessed to the crime," an officer said.

Kamlesh's uncle, Devilal Lohar (39), said he was glad at the outcome of the police investigation, but averred that he had to push the cops hard to finish the probe. He said it saddens him that his close relatives duped him. "My own nephew brought me on the road to rebuild his own business. My suspicions grew stronger when Kamlesh and his father demanded from me in writing that they didn't have any role in the robbery. They broke off relations when I didn't agree," said Devilal. "I am yet to get my stolen property back. The police say they haven't yet recovered the valuables from the accused."