₹25 lakh stolen from parked van near Panchvati Circle in broad daylight

In a daylight theft that has alarmed business circles, unidentified miscreants broke into a parked van and stole ₹25 lakh near Panchvati Circle in Ahmedabad on Monday afternoon. The incident took place around 3.37 pm when the complainant, a partner in a pesticide manufacturing firm, momentarily left his vehicle to submit documents at Axis Bank.

According to the First Information Report (FIR) filed at Navrangpura police station, Amit Haridasbhai Dosa (31), a resident of South Bopal and partner in Maruti Laboratory, had collected the cash from the Ishwar Soma Angadiya firm located opposite Punjabi Hall in Navrangpura. The funds were part of a business transaction linked to his firm’s operations.

Dosa had parked his company’s white van by the roadside in front of Harubhai Jeweller’s shop, near Panchvati Circle. He placed the bag containing ₹25 lakh in denominations of ₹500, ₹200, and ₹100 notes on the passenger seat next to the driver, locked the vehicle, and proceeded on foot to Axis Bank to hand over documents.

He was inside the bank for no more than 10 minutes. When he returned, a parking attendant approached to raise an unrelated issue, but at that moment, he noticed two men on a motorbike had broken the car’s window and fled with the cash.

As per the police, one of the suspects had a helmet on, while the pillion rider had a handkerchief covering his face. Despite attempts to raise an alarm and the presence of a few bystanders, the duo managed to escape swiftly.

The complainant immediately informed his business partner, Janakbhai Dhamelia, and dialled the police control room on 100. Officers from the Navrangpura police station reached the scene shortly after.

The incident has been registered under relevant sections of theft, and police have started an investigation. Police suspect the assailants may have been tracking the complainant’s movements from the Angadiya firm to the site of the theft. CCTV footage from the vicinity, including the approach roads and surrounding shops, is being examined to trace the suspects and the motorcycle used in the crime.

Investigators have not ruled out the possibility of insider information being passed to the perpetrators and are probing all angles.

A senior police official said, “We are treating this as a serious and targeted offence. The complainant had followed routine procedures, but the placement of such a large amount of cash in an unattended vehicle, even briefly, is highly risky. The investigation is progressing, and we are hopeful of identifying the culprits soon.”

As if no arrests had been made.