Mumbai, March 2 Four people were arrested after a 48-day search in the forests of Rajasthan, allegedly for stealing jewelry worth ₹6.79 crore from a shop in north Mumbai, a police official said on Monday.
The theft of gold, silver, and diamonds from the safe of complainant Sanket Porwal's shop in IC Colony in Borivali West took place in January, the MHB police station official said.
"Our investigation revealed that shop employees Prabhu Singh and Narayan Singh allegedly used a duplicate key to unlock the safe and flee with the valuables. Technical analysis traced them to Rajasthan, after which a team went there. The trail eventually led investigators to the dense forest regions of the Rajsamand district in the western state," he said.
The accused avoided staying in villages and continued to move deeper into the forest to avoid arrest, the official said. They also kept moving between Rajsamand, Chittorgarh, Sardargarh, and Pali districts, he added.
"For 48 days, police officers camped in the jungles, relying on human intelligence and advanced surveillance techniques. Thermal drones were used to scan forest zones where the accused were suspected to be hiding. Further investigation revealed the involvement of others identified as Ganpat Singh, Kishan Singh, and Mod Singh," he said.
One key accused was traced to a temple located deep inside a forest near Muwariya village in the Rajsamand district, while two others were picked up from Kuwariya village based on a tip-off, the official added.
Three kilograms of gold worth ₹4.5 crore, as well as five kilograms of silver worth ₹15 lakh, have been seized, and efforts are underway to recover the remaining loot, he said.