Rs 5 lakh in cash, jewellery stolen from former Guj CM

A case of a theft at the residence of Shankersinh Vaghela, a former Congress leader which took place in October 2018, was registered on Sunday. Reportedly, cash and jewellery which went missing were kept in Vaghela's wife Gulab Baa's room. Suspicion fell on the husband-wife duo after they did not return from Nepal as promised when they left for their native place.

Ahmedabad:Cash and jewellery worth Rs 5 lakh were stolen from former Gujarat chief minister Shankersinh Vaghela's house, allegedly by a Nepalese couple working as domestic helps at his house, police said on Monday.

"The theft at the residence of Vaghela, a former Congress leader who is now in the NCP, took place in October last year, but a police complaint was lodged only on Sunday by Vaghela's employee Suryasinh Chavda," they said.

Vaghela's house, a palatial bungalow named 'VasantVagado', is situated near Pethapur village on the outskirts of the Gandhinagar city.

As per the complaint lodged with the Pethapur police, the couple - Shambhu Gorkha aka Basudev Nepali and his wife Sharda - had allegedly stolen Rs 3 lakh in cash and gold jewellery worth Rs 2 lakh and fled to their native place inKailali district of Nepal.

Reportedly, the cash and jewellery were kept in Vaghela's wifeGulab Baa's room in the bungalow.

"According to Chavda's complaint, suspicion fell on the husband-wife duo after they did not return from Nepal as promised when they left for their native place," the police said.

"Shambhu was hired around four years back. He along with his wife and kids used to live in the bungalow premises. In October, the couple left for their native place in Nepal claiming they wanted to admit their children in a school there," said Chavda in the complaint.

"On February 7, Vaghela's wife noticed that cash and jewellery worth Rs 5 lakh, meant to be used for a marriage function in the family and kept in a cupboard, were missing," said police sub-inspector of Pethapur A G Anurkar.

When the family asked other servants about the missing valuables, it came to light the couple was tasked with the cleaning of the room where they were kept.

"When Chavda contacted Shambhu over the phone, he promised to return soon. However, when he did not return, it got confirmed that the couple had stolen the valuables from the room and then fled to Nepal," said Anurkar, adding that an investigation in the case was underway.

With inputs from PTI.