Thief breaks through canteen window, steals ₹7.45 lakh from Mahindra car showroom in Ahmedabad

An unidentified burglar allegedly broke into a Mahindra car showroom near the Sola High Court in Ahmedabad and decamped with ₹7.45 lakh in cash, police said on Friday. The theft occurred late on the night of September 26, when the showroom was closed.

According to the FIR lodged at the Sola High Court Police Station, the complainant, Puneet Rajnikant Shah (43), a resident of Navrangpura and General Manager at Param Automotive Pvt Ltd, reported that cash collected from two days of car servicing was missing from the showroom safe.

Shah stated that he received an early morning call on September 27, around 7 am, from the showroom’s security guard, Dilip Tiwari, informing him about the break-in.

“Tiwari told him that when he opened the showroom at 6 am, he found the door of the safe in the accounts room on the ground floor broken. Papers and other belongings were scattered all over the floor. When he went to the first floor, the drawers of several tables were open, and it appeared that a theft had taken place,” Shah stated in his statement.

Upon rushing to the showroom, Shah and the company accountant, Nikunj Patel, discovered that ₹7.45 lakh in cash representing two days’ worth of service receipts had been stolen. A further inspection revealed that the glass window of the canteen, adjoining the accounts office on the first floor, had been broken open, which the police believe was the thief’s entry point.

“No other valuables or items appear to have been stolen, and there were no signs of tampering in other parts of the premises,” said police.

Following the discovery, the management discussed the matter internally before formally lodging a police complaint. The FIR notes that the theft likely occurred between 8 pm on September 26 and 6 am on September 27.

Police have registered a case of housebreaking and theft under relevant sections of the BNS and have initiated an investigation. CCTV footage from the showroom and surrounding areas, including the Kargil petrol pump junction, is being reviewed to identify the suspect.

A police officer from the Sola High Court station said, “Preliminary findings suggest that the thief was familiar with the layout of the premises and targeted the accounts section specifically. We are analysing security footage and verifying possible leads.”

No arrests have been made so far.