Gujarati woman burgles ₹1.5 crore from relative in Palghar impersonating as a man

The Maharashtra police have cracked a high-value burglary case within a day in Palghar. However, the victim, a 66-year-old man, was shocked to know that he was duped by none other than his daughter-in-law's sister, who dressed up as a man.

On Monday, a 'young man' visited Uddhav Bhanushali, an elderly man living alone at Manickpur in Vasai area. The strange visitor wanted to use the bathroom urgently, and Bhanushali let the person inside the house. Once in the bathroom, the 'stranger' said there was some leak and called Uddhav in. The 'stranger' locked him inside the bathroom and burgled gold and silver jewellery worth ₹1.5 crore. 

Uddhav Bhanushali immediately alerted the police. According to cops, the burglar had escaped with 1.4kg of gold ornaments and 2.3kg of silver items, collectively valued at ₹1,5 crore. Based on the victim's complaint, an FIR was registered the same day under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections for theft, robbery and wrongful confinement, police said.

Cops examined 75 to 80 CCTV footages, and they received a tip-off that a relative of the victim in Gujarat could be involved in the crime. "We came across footage showing a man carrying the stolen items and placing them somewhere before disappearing from sight, after which a woman collected them," a senior police official said.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime) Madan Ballal said, "Acting swiftly, a crime branch team from here, with the assistance of the Navsari police, apprehended the woman, identified as Jyoti Mohan Bhanushali, from Gujarat late Monday night."

"During interrogation, she confessed to hatching the plan herself. Disguised as a man, she visited the house of her sister's father-in-law, knowing he lived alone, and carried out the robbery," the senior police officer said. The police have recovered all the stolen items, he added, and said further probe was on into the case.