Eight persons, including two juveniles, have been arrested for series of thefts reported in Kawardha city, Kabeerdham Superintendent of Police Dr Lal Umed Singh said.
Gold jewellery weighing 357 grams worth Rs 14,28,00, silver jewellery of 356 grams worth Rs 17,500 and Rs 8,33,850 in cash were recovered from them.
Addressing the media, SP said following spurt in thefts in the city, different teams were constituted to probe them after review. Earlier, theft accused were also interrogated. CCTVs were scanned and suspects were being identified and hunted.
During this period, a tip off was received that two juveniles are spending more money than their capacity. Both were then interrogated and they revealed that along with others they have indulged in thefts. The stolen cash was recovered from them.
The two boys and others were arrested and they admitted their involvement in series of theft. From them the stolen cash, jewelleries of gold and silver worth were recovered.
The group used to sell the gold and silver ornaments through the juveniles to the jewellery shops. One of the jewellers Ravi Rathore admitted procuring the stolen jewellery from the thieves, mainly the minors. Additional to it LED TVs and other materials were also recovered from the arrested persons.
The police filed 12 offences against all the accused under section 457, 380 of IPC. The accused are Raj alias Chote Dewar and Surveer Dewar, both residents of Devarpara, Yeshwant Meravi, a resident of Revbandh Pond and two juvenile boys.
The police also booked four persons, Ravi Rathore of Piparia, Arjun Jadhav, a resident of Thakur Para, Amit alias Raja Soni, a resident of Piparia and Rupesh Kesare of Piparia for purchasing stolen gold and silver from the accused.