Hyderabad: Cyberabad Police have cracked the Hill Ridge Villas theft case in Gachibowli and recovered stolen property, including gold, silver, cash and mobile phones, within days of the crime.
Police recovered nearly 7.84 kg of gold ornaments, 1.36 kg of silver ornaments, cash and mobile phones. They also arrested three accused in connection with the case.
The theft came to light on June 7 when an elderly couple returned to their villa and noticed a gold chain missing from a household idol. Later, their son inspected a locker and found that around 7 to 8 kg of gold jewellery and 1.5 kg of silver ornaments were missing.
Hill Ridge Villas theft leads to interstate operation
Following the complaint, Special Operations Teams, crime teams and local police launched an investigation.
Based on intelligence inputs, police sent six teams to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Uttarakhand to trace the suspects.
On June 9, a Gachibowli police team, with assistance from Rampur Police in Uttar Pradesh, arrested three accused on Bilaspur Road in Rampur district.
Police identified the accused as Kamal Shahi, 32, his wife Vimla Shahi alias Bimala Shahi and Kalpana Shahi, 26. All three are natives of Nepal.
Officials said they recovered the entire stolen property from the accused.
Hill Ridge Villas theft accused posed as domestic workers
Investigators said the gang allegedly targeted affluent families living in luxury villas.
According to police, the accused secured employment as domestic workers and collected information about the routines of residents before committing thefts.
Police said the prime absconding accused, Suresh alias Suraj, allegedly recruited workers from Nepal and placed them in high-end residences across Hyderabad.
Investigators alleged that the gang used insider information to identify periods when houses remained vacant.
In the Hill Ridge Villas theft, the accused allegedly found a locker key kept near the locker. They reportedly opened the locker, removed valuables, relocked it and fled with the key to avoid suspicion.
Cyberabad Police Commissioner Dr. M. Ramesh praised the investigating officers and staff for solving the case quickly and recovering the stolen property. He also announced cash rewards for personnel involved in the operation.
The investigation proceeded under the supervision of senior police officials, including Additional DCP Serilingampally N. Uday Reddy, ACP Kalingarao, SHO Balaraju and other officers from Gachibowli Police Station.