Burglary at teacher's house in Sabarmati: Valuables, cash worth ₹4.7 lakh stolen

In a late-night burglary reported in Sabarmati, unidentified thieves allegedly broke into a teacher’s house and decamped with gold and silver ornaments along with cash collectively valued at ₹4.71 lakh. The Ahmedabad city police have registered a case and launched a probe.

Sabarmati resident Ritaben Pandey (50) in her complaint to Sabarmati Police Station stated that she lives alone in Ahmedabad and works as a teacher at ONGC Gyandeep School in Chandkheda. Her husband has been employed with a company in Qatar for the past 18 years, and her two adult children—one residing in Canada and the other in Japan—were not in the city at the time of the incident.

Ritaben said that she had gone to her second house near Sopan Flats, Chandkheda, on October 1. On the morning of October 3, around 6.15 am, she received a call from her neighbour, informing her that the lock of her main door was broken. On rushing back to her residence, she found the outer iron grill forced open and the inner wooden door ajar.

Inside, the rooms on both floors were ransacked. The iron safe in the first-floor bedroom and the wooden cupboard in the second bedroom had been prised open, with belongings scattered across the rooms. Upon checking, Ritaben found that gold jewellery weighing around 185 grams, silver ornaments weighing approximately 240 grams, and about ₹95,000 in cash were missing.

The stolen items included multiple gold chains, bracelets, earrings, nose rings, and two gold bars, apart from silver anklets and thick bangles. The total value of the stolen property has been estimated at ₹4.71 lakh.

Police said the burglary likely occurred between 9 pm on October 6 and 6 am on October 7, when unknown miscreants broke through the door grille and gained entry into the house. Officers from the local crime team examined the scene and collected evidence, including fingerprints.

Inspector V R Vaghela of the Sabarmati Police Station confirmed that a case has been registered against unidentified persons under relevant sections of the BNS for housebreaking and theft. “The investigation is underway, and teams are reviewing CCTV footage from the vicinity to identify the accused,” he said.

Police suspect that the theft was carried out by experienced burglars who had prior knowledge of the complainant’s absence from the house. Further inquiries are on to trace the culprits and recover the stolen valuables.