Burglars hit gold loan company, steal 32kg jewellery worth Rs 9 crore

ULHASNAGAR: Burglars broke into the safe of Manappuram Finance's gold loan branch in Ulhasnagar early on Monday and took away over 32kg of gold jewellery worth over Rs 9 crore. The prime suspect is the security guard of the building in which the firm's ground-floor office is located. The man, Nepalese national Karan Thapa, has gone missing.

Two masked men were caught on CCTV (before the burglars cut the network), but the police believe more were involved as the equipment left behind, including a gas cutter used to gain entry into the branch, is heavy, requiring at least four or five men to haul. CCTV footage from 2am, Monday, shows two masked men in the firm's office. The footage then goes blank; the burglars cut the CCTV network's wires.

They entered the firm through the duct area behind its office, where the building's main water supply pipeline passes through. They cut a 3-ft-wide hole in the wall using a gas cutter to avoid making noise. The wall was the bathroom's. After gaining entry there, the burglars broke the bathroom's door, which was latched from outside, to enter the office's main area. There, they used the gas cutter on the firm's locker. They left with gold, leaving behind the gas cutter and other equipment.