Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Burglars on late Thursday night targeted a milk parlour situated near the official residence of Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and other ministers and escaped with cash and dairy products worth Rs 50,000 after destroying surveillance equipment.
According to police, the theft occurred at the milk parlour on Link Road No. 1 under TT Nagar police station limits.
The shop is located directly opposite the official residence of PHED Minister Sampatiya Uikey, approximately 10 metres from Minister Krishna Gaur's bungalow, 50 metres from the police outpost serving the residences of Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and other VIPs and nearly 80 metres from the official residence of Sports Minister Vishvas Sarang.
According to the complaint lodged by the parlour operator, the establishment was locked as usual on the previous night. The staff found the locks broken and the premises ransacked the next morning.
The thieves allegedly stole around Rs 5,000 in cash kept in the counter and made away with substantial quantities of dairy products including curd, shrikhand and lassi packets. The total loss has been estimated between Rs 40,000 and Rs 50,000.
In an apparent attempt to avoid detection, the burglars smashed CCTV cameras installed inside and outside the outlet and removed the Digital Video Recorder (DVR) containing surveillance footage before fleeing.
Police station in-charge Gaurav Dohre said a case had been registered against unidentified persons and a special team has been assigned to investigate the theft.
The TI Dohre further said several leads emerged and efforts were underway to arrest the accused soon.
Earlier theft at Sports Min’s bungalow
The latest incident comes months after a burglary at the official government residence of Sports Minister Vishvas Sarang in the same VIP enclave.
The thieves broke into a storeroom and allegedly stole sports trophies, medals, commemorative mementos and important administrative documents.
