Mumbai: Three employees of V. Shah Jewels' company allegedly stole 547 grams of gold valued at Rs. 35 lakhs during the gold dust refining process. The accused were identified as Nitesh Tiwari, Ratnakar Pandey, and Aman Pandey, all from Jogeshwari East.
According to the police, V. Shah Jewels' corporate office is situated at Andheri West, while its factory is located in Kandivali East. The factory employs 75 individuals engaged in tasks such as polishing the gold ornaments, setting diamonds in gold jewellery, and clerical work. During the polishing process, small particles of gold accumulate in a bag attached to the polish machine, while some gold particles may land on worker's clothing, hands, and on the floor and mix with the dust, which is called 'dust' in the jewellery industry. The workers collected all the dust and sent it to the refining department, where the pure gold was separated and accounted for before being dispatched to designated jewellers.
Accused Stole Gold While Refining Process
Nitesh Tiwari had been working in V. Shah Jewels since 23rd February 2023. He recommended Ratnakar Pandey and Aman Pandey for gold refining work, which the company subsequently approved. In August 2023, when another employee informed management about the trio's stealing the gold dust. The management kept an eye on them, however, in the Diwali festival trio went on leave. Mitash Tiwari and Ratnakar Pandey again joined the company on 17th November 2023, but Aman Pandey did not join.
In November 2023, the company discovered 547 grams worth of Rs.35 lakhs of gold had not been found. The senior questioned about it, but Tiwari and Ratnakar Padey avoided the answers. By end of the November, Tiwari and Ratnakar Pandey were absent from work, and subsequently attempted to contact them and ask about work but they gave various reasons. Later, the trio's mobile phones remained switched off.
Consequently, the manager of the company filed a case against Mitesh Tiwari, Ratnakar Pandey, and Aman Pandey under sections 34 (common intention), 408 (criminal breach of trust by a servant), and 420 (cheating and dishonesty) of the Indian Penal Code at MIDC police station on January 1.
