Woman robbed of jewellery worth ₹2 lakh after boarding shared auto from Kalupur station

A 28-year-old woman from Maharashtra has alleged that she was robbed of gold and silver jewellery worth over ₹2 lakh after boarding a shared auto-rickshaw from outside the Kalupur Railway Station in Ahmedabad earlier this week.

According to Kalupur police, the incident took place in the early hours of May 4 after the complainant, Sharmilaben Soni, arrived in Ahmedabad along with her two children and brother aboard the Lokshakti Express from Mumbai.

Police said Sharmilaben, a resident of Dombivli in Maharashtra, had boarded the train from Andheri Railway Station on May 3 and reached Ahmedabad at around 4.15 am the following day. After exiting the station premises, she, her brother and children hired a shared auto-rickshaw to travel to her parental home in Saijpur Bogha.

In her complaint, Sharmilaben stated that three unknown men were already seated inside the auto-rickshaw when they boarded the vehicle near the railway station entrance. Although she initially objected, the driver allegedly assured her that the passengers would be dropped off on the way.

She further alleged that the driver diverted the vehicle towards Sarangpur and later claimed that the front tyre had low air pressure, asking one of the passengers seated near him to move to the rear seat. The man then allegedly sat with his feet placed over her trolley bag.

The complainant told police that she felt someone tampering with her luggage during the journey. Around 4.45 am, the auto-rickshaw stopped near Khokhra Circle, where the driver allegedly asked the family to get down, claiming he would return after dropping the other passengers nearby. However, he never came back and did not even collect the fare, police said.

When Sharmilaben later checked her trolley bag at her mother’s residence at 6 am, she discovered that a plastic box containing gold and silver ornaments was missing.

The stolen valuables reportedly included a gold mangalsutra, chains, earrings, rings, pendants, anklets, a nose ring, a silver waist belt and other ornaments collectively valued at approximately ₹2.04 lakh.

The complainant informed police that the jewellery had been gifted by her family and in-laws during her marriage and at the birth of her children.

The family initially tried to trace the auto-rickshaw driver and the unidentified passengers on their own for two days before approaching the police.

The Kalupur police have registered a case of theft and cheating against the unidentified auto-rickshaw driver and the three unknown men.