Mumbai- A gang of thieves tunnelled their way into a jeweller's shop at Marol Maroshi in Andheri (E) and fled with valuables worth Rs 4 lakh on Friday, reports Mumbai Mirror. The thieves opened a gutter near the outside of the shop and dug out a six-feet tunnel – possibly digging for at least a week – to enter the jewellery shop on the night of Thursday/Friday.
Fortunately for the jeweller, they could not open the main lockers which held jewellery worth Rs 1.5 crore.
In a similar incident, almost a year to the day, a gang of thieves had dug a tunnel to enter and rob Rs 6 lakh worth of ornaments from Mahavir Jewellers at Navghar Road in Bhayandar (E) last October.
On Friday, when Prashant Nagvekar, owner of Kalika Jewellers at Marol Maroshi opened his shop, he was taken by surprise. He was greeted by a gaping hole in the floor just inside the door, and found about 11 kg of silver ornaments missing from his 300 sq ft showroom.
“The shutters were all down and we have an alarm system which, in the event of a break-in, goes off at my house and the police station. My showroom is near the Marol police camp and there are usually a lot of policemen around,” said Nagvekar.
“But the thieves employed a very cunning method to break in. They entered a gutter which passes partially under my shop, and from there they dug sideways about three feet towards my shop, and then another three feet upwards to enter without anybody knowing,” said Nagvekar.
According to the police, the accused appear to know the place well. “Nobody can just dig a gutter and enter a shop. They might have done a recce of the place and then planned the theft,” said Inspector Deepak Bagwe of MIDC Police Station. “The jewellery shop did not have CCTV and nobody heard a sound. We have registered a case of house breaking under Section 457 of the Indian Penal Code.”
Bagwe further said, “The place is very filthy, we couldn't stand there for a minute. How they managed to carry out the break-in, which must have taken a while, is surprising. We have alerted all the jewellers in the area and have asked them to install CCTV cameras.”
The police are also checking out known criminals of the area. “We suspect somebody from the vicinity might have been involved and are investigating,” said an officer.
