Mumbai: Kshitij Sawant (31), a resident of Dadar West, has a wife named Prachi who runs a saree business under the name "Mahalakshmi Paithani." On September 29, between 3 PM and 4 PM, an unknown customer who came to their house to purchase Paithani sarees stole pure silk Paithani sarees worth ₹10 lakhs while Prachi was distracted. A case has been registered at Dadar Police Station against the unknown person under Section 305 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
According to the information provided by the police, Satish Sawant's wife, Prachi, has been selling Paithani sarees since 2020 through advertisements on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. She has around 80,000 followers on Instagram.
Prachi sells Paithani sarees ranging from ₹2,500 to ₹5 lakhs. She operates her saree business from home. Additionally, once a month, she promotes and sells Paithani sarees by advertising special collections on Instagram.
Accordingly, on September 27, information about the Mahalakshmi Paithani exhibition, which was to be held on September 28 and 29, was shared on the "Mahalakshmi Paithani" Instagram page. This exhibition was organized at Sawant's home from 11 AM to 7 PM. On September 29, between 3 PM and 4 PM, a few female and male customers came to their house to purchase Paithani sarees.
In the hall of their house, two tables were set up for the exhibition, displaying semi-Paithani sarees, pure silk sarees, and other expensive Paithani sarees for the customers. One of the female customers purchased a semi-Paithani saree for ₹3,500. Around 5 PM, while Kshitij and his wife Prachi were arranging the sarees on the table, they noticed that some sarees were missing.
Upon careful inspection, they realized that seven of the expensive Paithani sarees were no longer on the table. Kshitij mentioned that he had gone to the kitchen twice to get water for the customers, leaving Prachi alone to show the sarees. During this time, it is suspected that one of the unknown customers stole the expensive Paithani sarees. This information was provided by the police based on the complainant's statement.
