Owner goes on Shirdi trip, burglars target Sola house

The next time you go on a vacation, make sure your house is not a target for burglars. Thieves struck at Gautam Patel's house in Bhagwatnagar Society on Gulab Tower Road when the 62-year-old went on a pilgrimage with his friends for a couple of days.

Patel, who was on tour from April 26 to April 30, told police that he returned to find that the back door of his house was open.

"The window grill had been broken and two cupboards in the bedroom on the gorund floor of the house and three in the bedroom on the first floor had been broken into," the complaint stated.

The thieves had made off with Rs 10 lakh in cash along with expensive watches of foreign brands, and other gold and silver jewellery.

The total value of the theft is said to be around Rs 17 lakh.

Patel is the owner of a travel company and provides bus service to a renowned school located on SG Highway.

Speaking to Mirror, Patel said, "Upon returning home from my trip, I found that the lock on the grill on the backdoor was broken. Someone had entered the house by cutting the grill of the window. The thieves forgot to take the CCTV box along with them. We have provided the CCTV footage to the police department."

According to the footage, the two burglars had entered the house around 2.33 pm on the afternoon of April 29.

Speaking about the incident, Sola High Court Inspector P B Chauhan said, "Currently, the investigation is in the primary stage and we have collected CCTV footage of the area. Fingerprint experts will also visit the place and collect data after which we will match the data with our records." He added, "Based on their style of working, it seems that they are professionals. We suspect they are also involved in another theft which took place around 2 months ago around Gulab Tower."