Following his apprehension at the hands of Kurla cops, Umed Singh Solanki (26) has let slip that he stole valuables worth Rs 63 lakh from his employer’s jewellery unit so he could obtain bail for his wife – a bar girl – who was arrested by Navi Mumbai police.
Solanki, an employee of Madhuram Jewellers, near Bhabha Hospital, Kurla (W), had committed the crime on July 8. He is a resident of Seawoods in Navi Mumbai and hails from Rajasthan. The owner of the store, Naveen Deopura, had hired the accused just ten days ago. To ensure he gets away with the heist, Solanki had also taken the recordings of the CCTV camera on the premises with him.
Later, Kurla police arrested Umed, his brother Jabbar Singh who has a milk booth in Seawoods, and friend Vijay Kamble following a tip-off received by constable Nivruti Yende from Vashi. “While trying to recover the gold from the accused, we learnt that they had tried to sell the valuables in Kerala, Lonavala and Rajasthan,” said Sarjeerao Jagdale, inspector of Kurla police station.
The offenders managed to trade some amount of the gold, and Umed paid Rs 35,000 to a lawyer to secure the bail of his wife.
“Umed was in the habit of visiting dance bars and he carriedout thefts to sustain this interest. Later, he fell in love with one of the dancers and married her. He used to stay with her in Vashi. A friend who was lodging with them allegedly brought a minor girl from Rajasthan to Navi Mumbai. When the local police learnt about this, it arrested all three and rescued the girl,” said Mahendra Kaldoke, assistant inspector from Kurla police station.
By paying Rs 2 lakh, Umed’s brother Jabbar bailed him out, but not his wife. He later asked Umed to mend his ways and provided him employment with Madhuram Jewellers.
But the accused had other ideas. “After working at the store for ten days, Umed stole some keys from his employer’s home, entered the shop, and fled with the valuables and the CCTV footage,” said constable Yende.
