1 week Ago
Surat: The crime branch of the city police on Wednesday solved the Magdalla theft case and arrested a man named Jay Bhandari (37) and seized gold worth Rs 16.22 lakh from him. The theft took place at the house of Amrut Bhandari, who is the brother-in-law of Jay, on Sunday.
Jay decided to steal gold from Amrut's house after the latter refused to give him Rs 20,000, which was short of what he needed to buy a new Activa scooter. After Amrut and his family left for a tour of Palitana and Virpur, Jay committed the crime. Amrut is a priest and trustee of the Sai temple in Magdalla area under Umra police station.
His wife's brother, Jay, also worked at this temple to perform pooja and other tasks. Amrut paid him Rs 5,000 a month, apart from providing ration for the family. Inspector Kiran Modi of the crime branch told TOI: "Three months ago, Jay wanted to buy an Activa scooter.
He was Rs 20,000 short of the total amount. So, he went to Amrut and asked for help. However, Amrut refused to give him money.
" Later, said Modi, a family member of Jay fell ill but Amrut refused to help him at that time too. "Jay harboured a grudge and went to Amrut's home on Sunday and stole the gold and Rs 51,000 cash. He broke the locks to make it look like a theft.
He also stole the DVR of the CCTV and threw it in the Tapi from the ONGC bridge," said the police inspector. Before leaving for Palitana and Virpur, Amrut had given the main door keys to Jay and asked him to feed the birds and water the plants. However, he locked other doors and kept the keys with him.
"On Sunday morning, Jay broke the lock of the iron door in the backyard of the home so that the family would feel it was a real theft. He also stole the DVR of the CCTV so that police would think professional thieves committed the crime," said Modi. As there was no movement near the house, the crime branch developed a suspicion about Jay, who was the only person to visit the house.
During questioning, he broke down and confessed to committing the crime. Box: Head: Gold concealed in wall After the theft, Jay took the gold to his house in Suman Lipi Awas in Palanpura canal road area. He made a hole in the wall and concealed the gold in that hole.
He covered the hole with cement so that no one could find the gold. Police recovered the 249 gram of gold after drilling the wall..
