Staff arrested for stealing ₹ 40 lakh

We conducted an investigation and found four bank accounts with transaction to the tune of ₹ 31 lakh POLICE, Official statement

MUMBAI : The LT Marg police arrested a 38-year-old dry fruit and sweets shop employee in south Mumbai for allegedly stealing over Rs 40 lakh.

The incident came to light after the shopkeeper noticed in CCTV footage that the accused, Ritalal Mahato, pocketed the cash paid by the customer instead of keeping it in the cash counter. A native of Jharkhand, Mahato came to Mumbai five years ago. He started working at Sapan Papadwala and General Store in the Bhuleshwar area in 2017. He used to make sweets in the shop, which supplied sweets and dry fruits to smaller shops in the vicinity, said police subinspector Vinod Pawar of the LT Marg police station.

Mahato was also assigned a job to deposit money in the employer’s bank account. He did not deposit all the money in the employer’s account and kept some aside and deposited the same in his personal accounts, said the police officer.

Mahato also stole money at the shop. In November, the employer noticed in the CCTV camera that Mahato kept Rs 5,000 in his pocket after collecting from a customer who purchased dry fruits from the shop and paid in cash, said Pawar. The employer then also checked his bank account and found that some money is missing. He then started inquiring with the people at his shop and found that the accused might not have deposited all of the money. When Mahato was confronted, he stopped coming to work and switched off his phone.

The shopkeeper then gave a written complaint to the LT Marg police station. “We found four bank accounts in the name of the accused and transactions of Rs 31 lakh,” said an officer.