IN A daring house break-in, a gang of thieves burgled Rs 20.32 lakh cash and a gold ring worth Rs 50,000 from the bungalow of Dr Amit Vijay Ghatke in Ajni area. A resident of 48, ‘Royal Edifice,’ Central Railway Colony, Omkar Nagar Road, Dr Ghatke (44) and his family members had gone to Raipur (Chhattisgarh). The house of Dr Ghatke, a practicing orhinolaryngologist (ENT surgeon), was locked between October 14, 2021 and November 16, 2016. Burglars struck at his bungalow and gained entry after breaking open the door lock with a crowbar. The intruders, somehow, managed to open the steel vault and took away Rs 20.32 lakh cash and a gold ring valued at Rs 50,000. When Dr Ghatke and his family returned, they were shocked to find Rs 20.32 lakh cash and the gold ring stolen.

 

Dr Ghatke, who also runs a clinic at Shewalkar Arcade, Laxmi Bhavan Square, West High Court Road, Dharampeth, informed the police. Senior police officers, including DCP (Zone-IV) Noorul Hasan, staff from Ajni Police Station and Crime Branch visited the spot. Fingerprint experts were summoned. Cops procured the footage of CCTV cameras installed in Dr Ghatke’s house to identify the burglars. Dr Ghatke, who was earlier attached to KRIMS Hospital, Ramdaspeth, told police that he had kept the cash in the vault for treatment of his ailing parents. Ajni Police registered a case under Sections 454, 457 and 380 of the Indian Penal Code against the unidentified burglars.