Pune: Driver Steals Employer’s Mother’s Gold Ornaments, ₹15 Lakh Recovered; Booked By Police

Pune: A shocking theft case has come to light under the Viman Nagar police jurisdiction, where a driver allegedly stole gold jewellery belonging to his employer’s family. In a startling detail, the accused had earlier been removed from his job after being caught stealing cash, but later managed to rejoin and committed another theft.

The accused has been arrested by Viman Nagar Police, who also recovered gold ornaments worth ₹15 lakh that had been melted into bullion to avoid detection.

The arrested accused has been identified as Rajesh Parashuram Kamble (40), a resident of Lohgaon. The complaint was filed by Farukh Abdul Hamid Hamdule (57), a resident of Viman Nagar who runs a company in Bhosari MIDC.

According to police, Kamble was previously employed as a driver by Hamdule. In November 2025, he was caught stealing cash from the house and a bag kept in the car, following which he was dismissed from the job. However, despite being removed, he continued to visit the complainant’s elderly mother occasionally.

The incident took place on April 5, 2026, when the complainant’s niece had an engagement ceremony at a hall in Bund Garden. On that day, the elderly mother had called Kamble to drive her to the venue. After dropping her off at the function, Kamble left around 8 pm, stating that his son was unwell. However, he had access to a spare key to the house, which was usually kept along with the car keys.

On April 19, when the complainant’s mother opened the cupboard to keep jewellery, she found that the gold ornaments were missing. Suspicion arose after CCTV footage from the housing society showed Kamble entering the building around 8:15 pm on the day of the engagement and leaving within 15 to 20 minutes.

Based on the complaint, Viman Nagar Police launched an investigation and detained Kamble. During interrogation, he confessed to the crime. Police revealed that he had melted the stolen gold ornaments into bullion in an attempt to destroy evidence. The police successfully recovered the melted gold worth ₹15 lakh.

Senior Police Inspector Govind Jadhav confirmed that the accused has been arrested and further investigation in the case is underway.