Three women stole a bag containing cash and jewellery worth Rs 9.52 lakh from Sanman Jewellers in Visnagar. One of them was seen praying before the theft.
Three women stole a bag containing Rs 2.50 lakh in cash and gold and silver jewellery worth a total of Rs 9.52 lakh from Sanman Jewellers in Visnagar, Mehsana. The theft occurred on August 8 in the Three Tower area.
According to the shop’s CCTV footage, two women distracted the jeweller while the third took advantage of the situation and picked up the bag containing the valuables. The footage reportedly shows one of the women pausing to pray before taking the bag.
CCTV footage shows women distracting elderly shopkeeper before fleeing with bag
The shop owner, Prakash Dashrathlal Patel, a resident of Umiya Nagar Society in Visnagar, had carried the bag from his home to the shop. He placed it near the safe in a corner before starting work.
At around 11 am, Prakash left the shop with a friend to buy utensils, leaving his 85-year-old father there. Between 11:15 am and 11:30 am, three unidentified women entered the shop on the pretext of purchasing jewellery.
Prakash said his 85-year-old father was sitting outside the shop when he left. He had asked him not to allow anyone inside until he returned. However, as his father moved inside to escape the heat, the three women entered after finding him alone.
According to Prakash, his father told the women to return after his son came back. They insisted that he show them the items and said they could discuss the price with Prakash later. While keeping the elderly man engaged, the women diverted his attention and stole the bag.
The entire incident reportedly took around four minutes, after which the trio fled with the valuables.
Prakash realised the bag was missing after returning. When he questioned his father, the elderly man said he was unaware of what had happened. The family then checked the CCTV footage, which captured the three women carrying out the theft.
Visnagar Police have begun searching for the suspects using CCTV footage from the area. After an initial search failed to trace the suspects, Prakash filed a complaint against the unidentified women at Visnagar City Police Station.