Rs 53 lakh stolen from businessman’s bungalow

PUNE: A Nepalese couple, working as a security guard and domestic help, stole cash, ornaments and valuables, collectively worth Rs 52.85 lakh, from the bungalow of a businessman at Premnagar in Market Yard between January 9 and 10.

The couple gained access to the bungalow from the rear side of the washroom after removing the windowpanes and cutting open the iron grills and mesh with a hacksaw blade.

They stole the property from three cupboards after breaking the locks. The burglary came to light after the businessman reached home on Thursday.

Senior inspector Duryodhan Pawar, in-charge of Market Yard Police Station, told TOI on Friday, “The businessman, Girish Shah, had recently appointed the couple on a salary of Rs 6,000 each. On January 9, Shah and his family left home to drop his daughter at Mumbai airport for boarding a flight to London.”

Pawar said, “The couple burgled the bungalow in a planned manner. Shah returned home the next day and found the gate locked. The guard and his wife were also missing. He found 34 articles, cash and valuables stolen from the cupboards. He then registered an FIR under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.”

“The couple diverted the CCTV cameras and stole the digital video recorder to conceal their identity. CCTV cameras, installed on business establishments outside the bungalow, have captured images of two men, which indicate that the couple had taken the assistance of a third person. We have recovered two crowbars, a hacksaw blade and a spanner from the spot,” he added.