Rs 65L gold bangles stolen from Mumbai found near Indo-Pak border; two arrested

Mumbai: Two men who had stolen gold bangles worth Rs 65 lakh from a workshop in Charkop were tracked down to the India-Pakistan border at Poonch in Jammu & Kashmir and arrested. Police said the family of one of the accused had buried the gold on the top of a hill, close to the border, from where it was recovered with the help of armed Jammu & Kashmir police force.

The accused, Mohd Shafir Chaudhary, 27, and Waqar Ahmed Hussain, 31, were employees of the workshop.

The burglary was reported on May 14 between 8 pm and 9.30 pm at the workshop located at Hindustan Naka. The owner of the workshop -- a senior citizen based out of the same suburb -- registered a police complaint shortly afterwards. Initially, he reported 3176 gm of gold as stolen. But after investigation, it turned out that 864 gm of gold had been stolen.

Both the accused had switched off their cellphones after committing the crime. Police carried out a technical surveillance and found out that the duo was in Poonch-- their hometown.

The Charkop police then got in touch with the Jammu & Kashmir Police and visited Poonch along with armed police as the area is close to the border. The duo was apprehended but the gold was not with them. After inquiries, it turned out that the mother and the wife of one of the accused had buried the gold on a hill near the border. With the help of the armed police from Jammu & Kashmir, the Charkop police visited the location on the hill and dug out the gold. The two accused were brought to Mumbai and produced before a local court here.

The arrest was made by a team under supervision of DCP Sandip Ghuge and senior inspector Vinayak Chavan.