Nagpur: Thieves break house lock, decamp with jewellery, cash worth Rs 14.15 lakh

Thieves broke the lock of a retired headmaster's closed house in the Imamwada police station area of Nagpur and fled with jewellery and cash worth about Rs 14,15,500. The incident took place at Dahipura Layout in Untkhana, where the thieves took advantage of the owner being away from home.

According to police, 65-year-old Milind Namdeorao Kamble, a resident of plot number 129, is a retired headmaster. Around 11 am on September 12, he locked his house and left for Ballarshah in Chandrapur district with his son and daughter-in-law, where his son's father-in-law lives. As soon as the family left, unknown thieves targeted the empty house.

According to the police investigation, the thieves reached the house sometime between 11 am on September 12 and around 7:35 am on September 13. They wasted no time breaking the lock of the main door and getting inside. Once in, they headed straight to the bedroom, where the family's valuables were kept in an iron cupboard.

After ransacking the cupboard, the thieves made off with Rs 75,000 in cash besides about 256.5 grams of various gold ornaments and silver jewellery. The total value of the stolen goods has been estimated at Rs 14,15,500.

The theft was first noticed by the maid who works at the house. She informed Kamble, who rushed back home immediately. On seeing the state of the house, he realised it had been cleaned out and lost no time in informing the Imamwada police.

On receiving Kamble's complaint, police registered a case against unidentified accused and began an investigation. A police team is now scanning CCTV camera footage from around the scene to identify the thieves and track them down. Police are also probing how the thieves came to know the house was empty, since the family's departure and the time of the theft appear to have coincided closely.