Rs 13 L stolen in broad daylight from shop

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: In broad daylight, thieves made off with Rs 13.37 lakh from the shop of a commission agent at the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) premises at Lasur Station. A case was registered against an unknown accused.

According to details, shop no. 20, which has a commission agency named “Deepchand Surajmal and Company,” is located at the APMC of Lasur Station, owned by trader Pradeep Lohade (Parsoda, Vaijapur tehsil).

As the arrival of agricultural produce has increased, Lohade had withdrawn Rs 10 lakh from the State Bank of India branch at Lasur Station on Tuesday afternoon to purchase farm produce.

He kept this amount in the shop’s drawer, which already contained Rs 3.37 lakh remaining from the previous day’s business. After keeping total of Rs 13.37 lakh in the drawer, he locked it at around 2 pm and stepped outside the shop to inspect produce brought by farmers for sale.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the thieves broke open the rear door of the shop with force and stole Rs 13.37 lakh from the drawer of the shop. When Lohade returned to the shop around 2:30 pm, he found the drawer broken and the cash missing. He searched the surrounding area and immediately informed the police.

Shillegaon police rushed to the spot and conducted a spot inspection (panchnama). A dog squad and fingerprint experts were also called in, but the thieves could not be traced. A case was registered against an unknown person at Shillegaon Police Station, and further investigation is underway.

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Thieves followed complainant from bank

Panic has spread among traders in the Lasur Station area due to this daylight theft. After reviewing CCTV footage from the surrounding area and the bank, police suspect that the thieves had followed Lohade from the bank itself. The accused appears to have waited for Lohade to step out of the shop before stealing the cash. The incident poses a major challenge for the Shillegaon police in tracing and arresting the thief.