Burglars steal valuables worth over Rs 10 lakh from former sarpanch’s home

Kolhapur: Thieves broke into the house of former Yadrav sarpanch Ulhas Bhosale, in the Takwade Road area of Ichalkaranji, and decamped with gold jewellery and valuables worth pver Rs 10 lakh within a two-hour window on Thursday evening, the police said.A case has been registered at the Gaobhag police station. "The stolen jewellery includes about 120g of gold jewellery, silver jewellery and cash. Apart from this, the thieves also took away Rs 24,200 in cash. Different teams have been formed to trace the thieves. The CCTV footage from the area is being examined and further investigation is ongoing," said inspector Mahesh Chavan.According to the police, Bhosale (50), a resident of Takwade Road, had left for Yadrav with his family to attend a programme at his brother-in-law's house, leaving the house locked. The house remained unattended for about two hours during the evening when the theft occurred.The police said the accused broke the main door lock to enter the house and later locked the door from inside. After ransacking the house, they escaped through the rear door.As per the complaint, the thieves broke open an iron safe in the bedroom and stole gold, silver ornaments and cash from the locker. They also broke into a cupboard in the hall and looted additional jewellery, including items belonging to Bhosale and his elder brother.On receiving information, the police visited the spot and conducted a panchanama. A dog squad and fingerprint experts were deployed, but the trail went cold after covering some distance from the farm road towards Takwade Road."The stolen items included a 28g gold necklace, 20g queen necklace, chains, earrings, bangles, rings, mangalsutra and silver ornaments," Chavan said, adding that further investigation is underway to identify and apprehend the culprits.