Mumbai: The police said they have recovered most of the stolen gold.
At least 10 people have been arrested in connection with the theft of gold worth Rs 8 crore at a jewellery shop in Bhuleshwar area of south Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
Based on specific inputs, six police teams were dispatched to Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan and the accused were caught for the theft that took place on January 14, an official said.
The police have recovered most of the stolen gold, which was buried in a field in Sirohi village of Rajasthan, he said.
Four of the accused had allegedly entered the shop in Phopalwadi area of Bhuleshwar in the early hours of January 14 and stolen around 17.4 kg of gold and gold ornaments, worth Rs 8 crore, the official said.
The accused had also escaped with the digital video recorder of the CCTV at the premises, as a result of which the police found it difficult to identify the men, the official said.
Based on a complaint lodged by the shop owner, an FIR was registered against Ganesh Kumar Devasi (21), Ramesh Prajapati (21) and three other accused at Lokmanya Tilak Marg police station, he said.
During the probe, the police got specific inputs about the accused persons, following which six teams were dispatched to Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, said Vishwas Nangre Patil, joint commissioner of police (Law and Order).
With the help of technical inputs, Prajapati was arrested from Ravdar bus stand in Sirohi, he said.
The police team recovered 9,070.71 gm of gold valued Rs 4.15 crore, which was buried by the accused in a farm in the village, he said.
During interrogation, Prajapoti also revealed that some of the stolen gold was kept with his relatives, the official said, adding that three more accused were arrested last week with 1,440.19 gm of gold.
The police team got information that the mastermind of the theft Devasi was hiding in Madhya Pradesh and was subsequently caught from Indore, he said.
On January 24, three more accused, who had given asylum to the accused, were also caught, he said.
So far, the police have managed to recover over 90 per cent of the stolen property and arrested 10 accused, the official said, adding that a manhunt has been launched for two more accused involved in the case.