An electrician has been arrested for allegedly stealing gold and diamond jewellery worth Rs 45 lakh from a house in Salt Lake’s CJ block, police said.
Soumen Sardar, from Magrahat in South 24-Parganas district, around 50km south of Kolkata, had been asked to check and repair electrical units and install lights in the house of businessman Vikas Jain, an officer of Bidhannagar East police station said.
The officer said Sardar, while working in the house, had access to the living rooms as well as bedrooms.
“Sardar had worked for a few days in the house. He somehow came to know that a large quantity of jewellery was kept inside one of the almirahs,” said the officer.
While working one day Sardar found the door of the almirah not locked. He immediately picked up the jewellery boxes from the almirah and hid them inside the bag containing his equipment.
The businessman’s family members discovered the theft on Thursday.
“Jain lodged a complaint with Bidhannagar East police station and named Sardar as the prime suspect as he had left his work unfinished and was not answering phone calls,” said the officer.
“We have recovered all stolen jewellery from Sardar,” the officer said.
Sardar is said to have told the police during questioning that he had kept the jewellery in his house and not been able to sell them.
He was produced in a Salt Lake court on Friday.
Defence counsel Kaushik Das told the court that Sardar should be granted bail as he had willingly returned all the items that had been reported stolen.
“The police have got all the jewellery items and have not moved a petition for a remand. No one else is involved in this theft and Sardar himself handed the items he had stolen. There is no need for him to be sent to jail. Moreover, he has said it was a momentary lapse of judgement on his part,” Das submitted.
The court, after hearing the argument, sent Sardar to judicial custody till December 31.