In a shocking incident, an unidentified thief has stolen a vault from a private finance firm in Pydhonie. The vault reportedly contained gold ornaments and cash, with the total value of the stolen assets amounting to Rs 19.63 lakh. Pydhonie Police have registered a case of burglary against an unknown individual and have launched an investigation. They are currently using CCTV footage to track down the perpetrator.
Ramchandra Sakharam Pawar, a resident of Maharashtra Nagar, Hanuman Chawl in Mankhurd, works as a manager at the Hanuman Nagari Patpedhi Ltd., a private finance firm located on Samuel Street in Indu Chambers, Pydhonie. The firm has five employees and is chaired by Shankar Kisan Pawar. The patpedhi provides loans to customers against pledged gold, returning the gold once the loan is repaid. Gold received from customers is typically stored at a private bank in Bhuleshwar. However, due to an audit scheduled for July 2024, all the gold was temporarily brought back to the finance office. Following the audit, the gold was stored in the firm’s vault, along with additional gold and cash kept as security for recent loans. At the time of the incident, the vault held around 250 grams (25 tolas) of gold and some cash.
On October 30, after the day’s work was completed, all employees locked up the office and left for home. The next morning, employee Sanjay Bajirao Chavan arrived at the office and found files scattered everywhere. The doors of a wooden table were left open, and the Godrej-brand vault was missing. Inspection of the premises revealed that three bars on the rear window grill had been cut, likely allowing the thief entry to steal the vault. The stolen vault contained gold worth Rs 18.50 lakh and cash amounting to Rs 1.13 lakh, making the total value of the stolen property Rs 19.63 lakh.
As soon as the theft was discovered, Ramchandra Pawar reported the matter to the Pydhonie Police. Upon receiving the information, police officials promptly arrived at the scene. Based on Pawar’s complaint, they registered a case of burglary against an unknown person. CCTV footage from the finance firm and surrounding areas has been seized by the police, and a search is underway to identify and apprehend the suspects based on the footage.