Pune: A shocking theft incident has come to light from the Viman Nagar area, where a milkman allegedly cracked a digital door lock by repeatedly guessing the password and stole Rs 1.32 lakh from a café owner’s apartment.
The entire incident was captured on CCTV cameras installed in the residential society.
The accused has been identified as Venkatesh Vasant Karande (34), a resident of Jai Vishwakarma Society in Vadgaonsheri, who had been supplying milk in the society for the past two years.
The theft was reported on January 17 from a fifth-floor flat in Eminence by Naiknavare, a residential complex located on New Airport Road.
According to the police, the complainant, Suryanarayan Rajartilam (48), runs Rameshwaram Cafe in Viman Nagar and lives in the rented apartment with his family. Rajartilam left home around 5 am to go to his restaurant. When he returned at about 7 am, he found Rs 1,32,550 missing from a kitchen cupboard. His family members were asleep at the time and were unaware of the theft. The flat is secured with a digital door lock operated by a password.
Following the discovery, Rajartilam approached the society’s security guard to check the CCTV footage. Upon reviewing the footage, the accused was seen entering the flat at around 6.28 am. Based on this evidence, the complainant approached the police, who arrested the accused on January 18.
Senior Inspector Govind Jadhav, in charge of the Airport Police Station, said the accused had been attempting to break into the digital lock for several weeks by guessing the password and finally succeeded on the day of the theft. Fingerprint analysis of the keypad confirmed multiple unauthorised attempts. He added that the accused has no prior criminal record.
Police have recovered the stolen cash, and further investigation is underway.
A case has been registered under Sections 331 (punishment for house-trespass or housebreaking) and 305 (theft in a dwelling house, or means of transportation, or place of worship, etc.) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
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