Pune: A former employee of Laxminarayan Chiwda shop at Bhavani Peth has been arrested for allegedly stealing cash, gold and silver, totally worth Rs 6.33 lakh, from the shop. Officials from the Khadak police station nabbed him within 24 hours and recovered the stolen items.
The arrested accused has been identified as Ratan Nandlal Patel (22). He was picked up from the railway station minutes before he could board a train to his native place in Uttar Pradesh.
According to police, Patel worked at the shop for the last eight months and was staying in a bakery nearby. The shop owner, Prashant Babulal Data (42), had removed him from the job on January 31 over a petty dispute. On the intervening night of January 31 and February 1, Patel broke into the shop and decamped with valuables and cash.
When Senior Police Inspector Rajendra Mokashi and Sub-Inspector Sanjay Gaikwad inspected the shop, they concluded that it was the handiwork of someone who knew about
the shop very well. After questioning the other employees, they zeroed in on Patel who had not been coming to work since February 1. Later, he was arrested from Pune railway station on Friday. Patel had removed a DVR set and three monitors, which were installed on the premises of the shop.
The same was found concealed in a drum at the bakery where he stayed. A magistrate court has remanded Patel to police custody till February 6.
