Bhopal staged theft case: Man fakes burglary at own home to repay trading losses; Rs 15 lakh jewellery recovered

BHOPAL: A 32-year-old man, burdened with heavy losses in share trading and mounting debt, allegedly staged a theft at his own house to repay the dues. Stolen jewellery worth nearly Rs15 lakh was recovered from the accused.According to police, the complainant, a 52-year-old woman, a govt school teacher and resident of Kalpana Nagar, Piplani, reported that when she returned home from school a few days ago, she found the latch of the main door broken and gold and silver jewellery worth around Rs15 lakh missing from the house.CCTV footage from the area was examined, but no suspicious person was seen entering or leaving the premises. This prompted the police to question family members and others living in the house in detail over the theft.The woman revealed that she and her husband work as govt school teachers. They have 2 sons. The elder, 32-year-old son was at home when she, her husband and younger son left.During questioning, the woman's elder son, Ashwin, appeared uneasy and gave evasive answers, raising suspicion. On sustained interrogation, he confessed to committing the theft himself. He told the police that he suffered heavy losses in share trading, leaving him under severe financial stress and in debt.To arrange money to repay the loans, Ashwin allegedly broke the lock of his own house and stole the jewellery, which he planned to sell. He hid the valuables for this purpose.SI Umesh Mishra said that Ashwin committed theft at home earlier too. He suffered losses in the past too, after which his parents paid his outstanding debt of Rs20 lakh. He even mortgaged his wife's jewellery, and she took a divorce from him. Police later recovered the stolen jewellery from his possession. Further investigation in the matter is underway.