Cyberabad police arrest 4 from Odisha for stealing 963 gm of jewellery, ₹2.9 lakh in cash

FIR details

The FIR, which was accessed by South First, revealed that on 9 January, Narukulla Venkata Prasad from Ashok Nagar approached the Kollur Police Station to report the alleged theft of significant valuables from his employer’s residence.

The complainant, Prasad (33), a personnel assistant to M Sujatha, detailed that the incident came to light on 8 January, when Sujatha returned home after a trip to Delhi with her husband. She had been away from 21 December.

Prasad asserted in his complaint that during their absence, the couple had entrusted the responsibility of the house to two servants, Chandra Sahu and Prabhakar Malik.

Upon Sujatha’s return, she discovered that all the lockers in her residence had been breached. The missing items included ₹6.5 lakh worth of gold jewellery — four diamond bangles, eight diamond lockets, 10 gold chains, four gold bangles (weighing 200 grams each), a necklace with earrings and bracelet sets, a diamond and blue sapphire finger ring, men’s finger rings, and 200 grams of gold coins — and ₹2.9 lakh in cash.

Prasad mentioned that Prabhakar Malik, one of the entrusted servants, had informed Sujatha about his wife’s illness on 26 December 2023, and left the premises. However, his phone remained switched off, raising suspicions about his involvement in the theft.

Responding to the complaint, Inspector K Ravindar of the Kollur Police Station registered a case under Section 381 (theft by clerk or servant of property in possession of master) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and initiated an investigation.

The police further received credible information that the accused, Prabhakar Malik, was present within the Gopanpally limits, causing Inspector Ravindar and his team to rush to the spot and apprehend the offenders.

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Criminal plot

Prabhakar Malik, Tapan Das, Sachindra Das, and Ratikanta Das hail from Odisha and arrived in Hyderabad for work. Malik, employed as a servant in Sujatha’s house, would occasionally observe the house owner removing money from the wardrobe drawer. Collaborating with co-accused Tapan, Sachindra, and Ratikanta, Malik hatched a plan.

On 25 December, when the house owner was away, Malik executed the theft of gold jewellery and cash, absconding with the loot. Subsequently, he met his accomplices and distributed the cash and gold jewellery.

They then headed their separate ways, with Tapan Das heading off to Jammalamadugu village, Ratikanta Das venturing back to Odisha, and Sachindra Das heading to his room in Gopanpally.