Woman Loses Ornaments Worth Rs 50 Lakh In Robbery, Her Father Is A Suspect

A 70-year-old man, along with his daughter-in-law and her minor son, allegedly stole jewellery worth Rs 50 lakh from his own daughter's house after drugging her, police said on Tuesday.

The daughter-in-law has been arrested, while efforts are underway to trace the elderly man and the minor boy, they said.

According to police, the incident occurred in the Dargah Sharif police station area of the Bahraich district, where the accused, Ravindra Khetan, had arrived with his daughter-in-law, Shivani Khetan, and her 16-year-old son to stay at the home of his daughter, Soni Bansal.

Soni, who is married to local businessman Manoj Tulsiyan, lives in DSL Green City Colony under the same police station area.

In his complaint, Tulsiyan alleged that on November 18, while he was at his shop with his son, he returned home to find his wife unconscious. "She was initially treated in Bahraich, and when her condition failed to improve, she was shifted to Apollo Hospital in Lucknow," he said.

Tulsiyan said that soon after his wife was moved to Lucknow, his in-laws left the house without informing anyone. When the family returned to Bahraich on November 21, they discovered that gold, silver and diamond jewellery worth nearly Rs 50 lakh had been stolen from their locker.

Additional Superintendent of Police (City) Ashok Kumar Singh said a case was registered on November 22 against the three accused based on the complaint. Multiple police teams examined mobile phone details, CCTV footage and other technical evidence during the investigation.

"On Monday, police arrested Shivani Khetan near Gullabeer Temple and recovered the stolen jewellery from her possession, "the ASP said. The elderly man and the minor boy remain absconding.

Preliminary investigation indicates that Shivani was tempted after seeing the expensive jewellery and planned the theft after inspecting the house.

She allegedly mixed depression pills into her sister-in-law's tea, rendering her unconscious before fleeing with the valuables, police said.

Police also found that the accused had tried to sell the jewellery at various shops but failed as jewellers demanded identity documents.

Shivani has been sent to jail, and efforts are on to arrest the remaining accused. 

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