Thane: 3 Nepalese men held for looting jewellery worth Rs 3.2 crore from shop

Three Nepalese men have been detained by the police in Thane, Maharashtra, in connection with a theft from a jewellery store during which gold worth Rs. 3.2 crore was stolen.

The crime branch officials arrested Madhav Giri, Dinesh alias Sagar Rawal, and Deepak Bhandari, all hailing from Nepal, on August 20, an official said. The police managed to recover 550 gm of the stolen gold, valued at Rs 33 lakh from the trio, he said.

A gang of miscreants allegedly broke into a jewellery shop in the main market area of Ulhasnagar town on June 27 and decamped with 6 kg of gold jewellery worth Rs 3.2 crore, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Shivraj Patil said. During the probe, the police relied on the CCTV footage from the area and technical analysis, which revealed that the accused were from Nepal, he said.

Police teams launched a manhunt in Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow, Varanasi and also searched in the districts bordering Nepal and finally apprehended the trio in one of the border areas, the official said. While three members of the gang have been arrested, seven more are suspected to be involved in the crime, he said.

The accused are history-sheeters and were involved in a similar robbery at a jewellery store in Kamote area of Navi Mumbai in October 2022, the official said. The gang, which included the security guard of the shop, first surveyed the location and struck when the establishment was closed, he said.