When cigarettes get expensive... ₹52,000 worth of fags stolen in Ahmedabad

A carton containing 340 packets of cigarettes worth approximately ₹52,000 was allegedly stolen from an electric scooter in the Naranpura area  of Ahmedabad earlier this month, police said.

As per a case registered at Naranpura Police Station, the theft took place on March 2 near a paan shop at Naranpura crossroads.

Bharatbhai alias Pratapbhai Barot (62), a resident of New Ranip, stated that he has been a salesman with a distributor for nearly three decades and makes deliveries in Naranpura and Navrangpura.

On the day of incident, Barot said he, along with his supervisor Rahul Sureshkumar Diwakar, had gone to deliver cigarettes to a shop in the area. He had parked his electric scooter outside the shop with a carton of cigarettes containing 19 varieties and a total of 340 packets, placed on it.

After stepping inside the shop briefly, the duo returned to find the carton missing. Police said an unidentified person had allegedly stolen the consignment from the parked scooter.

Barot, who was out of town subsequently, approached the police station upon his return on March 20 to lodge a formal complaint.

The total value of the stolen goods has been estimated at ₹52,000. Police have registered a case against an unknown accused and initiated an investigation.

Officials said statements of witnesses are being recorded and efforts are under way to identify the accused using available leads and possible CCTV footage from the vicinity.