Owner of a Powai-based liquor store was in for a shock on Monday when he reopened his establishment after the state government's permission, only to find his shop robbed of liquor and cash worth Rs 8.6 lakh.
The complainant, owner of Dimple Wine Shop near Tunga Village in Powai, said that cash worth Rs 1.10 lakh and liquor bottles worth Rs 7.50 lakh were missing after unidentified persons broke into the shop amid lockdown. Powai Police have registered a case of robbery against unidentified accused and are investigating the matter.
After the state government had ordered all the liquor shops to keep their shutters down from March 21, the complainant, Pramod Dodeja, had locked his store and opened only on Monday, when the state government and the excise department had granted permission to sell liquor. Dodeja, who sold country-made as well as imported liquor, had stored the cash and bottles in the cupboard and cabinet respectively.
However, when Dodeja reached Dimple Wine Shop in Tunga Village on Monday, he was shocked to see the iron cupboard broken in and bottles missing from the liquor cabinet. He immediately alerted Powai Police, who registered a case of robbery and house break-in where cash and valuables worth Rs 8.60 lakh were robbed.
A senior inspector from Powai police station confirmed the incident and said the accused people had broken into the shop by cutting the shutter and decamped with the valuables. Police are scrutinising the CCTV camera footage of the area but are yet to ascertain when the incident must have taken place between March 21 and May 4.
