Team Herald
PANJIM: The vigilant night patrolling staff of Bardez has successfully resolved a significant gold heist case involving the Nasnodkar jeweller in Mapusa. According to a senior officer from the North Goa Police, two of the arrested suspects were observed moving suspiciously in Mapusa during the night and were unable to provide satisfactory explanations for their presence at odd hours. This prompted the police on duty to gather digital evidence by taking photographs of the suspicious characters.
Police stated that the suspects had attempted the theft on Saturday night and the CCTV cameras had even sent an alert to the jewellery store owner but he had not informed the cops about it. Three persons with their faces covered had been captured in the footage.
“Until we verified the images captured by the night patrolling officers, we had no leads, as the suspects were wearing masks and could not be identified through CCTV footage,” a police officer informed Herald.
The officer further explained that, based on the suspects' clothing and body structure, two of them were identified, leading to immediate communication with the Maharashtra Police. This collaboration resulted in the successful tracing and detention of the suspects, along with the recovery of the stolen gold and silver ornaments.
During the investigation, it was discovered that one of the suspects had previously worked in Goa two years ago. All four of them conspired to execute the heist in Goa and managed to escape. Two of the suspects are minors and are currently housed in a state protective home, while the other two have been remanded in police custody.
The heist occurred on the night of September 22-23, between 12:30 and 3 am. The suspects have been charged under sections 331(4), 305(a) R/w 3(5) of BNS 2023, following a complaint from Chandramohan Vithal Nasnodkar. The complaint detailed how the suspects, acting with common intent, gained entry into the jewellery shop by breaking open the ventilator grills and the wall of the loft, making off with gold and silver jewellery, a silver bar, and a gold wristwatch valued in crores.
The other two suspects have been identified as Harji Singh Chouhan (26) and Bhawani Singh (18), both residents of Krishnapura, Kali Kankar, Ajmer, Rajasthan. The investigation is ongoing under the supervision of Police Inspector Nikhil Palekar and SDPO Mapusa Sandesh Chodankar.