Robbers dig tunnel into Jaipur house, steal 540kg silver buried in basement

JAIPUR: Mistrust between two friends led to greed that culminated in a dramatic heist of around 540 kg silver ornaments from a doctor’s house in Jaipur, preliminary police probe reveals.

On the intervening night of Friday and Saturday, in a filmy style, a box of silver was stolen from hair-transplant doctor Suneet Soni’s bungalow-cum-hospital located in Vaishali Nagar area of Jaipur city after thieves dug a tunnel into his basement from a neighbouring plot which they allegedly purchased a few months ago. The doctor informed the police about the theft on Saturday evening.

“The prime suspect in this case is Shekhar Agarwal, who is absconding from the day of the incident. He is a bullion trader. Both Soni and Agarwal knew each other for the past few years. As the doctor comes from a traditional jeweller’s family, he came in contact with the accused through known people working in Sarafa bazaar,” said a top police official familiar with the development of the case.

The police official added that the accused used to manage the finances of the victim. “Agarwal used to invest the money of Soni in different sectors and slowly the professional relationship turned into friendship. Just before the lockdown, on the advice of Agarwal, Soni had purchased silver and the price had shoot up to ₹70,000 per kg, which is highest in last five years,” the official said.

“Soni used to keep the silver purchased in locker of the basement of the house in the presence of Agarwal. But in November 2020, the doctor had purchased some silver and went to keep it alone. When the bullion trader asked him to join, Soni said that he will keep the ornaments himself. This developed a feeling of mistrust between the two friends.”

After this incident, Agarwal planned to steal the silver. Through the driver of Soni, the accused came to know that the doctor used to hide his treasure

beneath the floor of the basement. Earlier, the same man used to drive the car of Agarwal.

“Later, Agarwal purchased a flat adjacent to Soni’s house on some third person’s name. Three months ago, the accused started to create a single-room house on the plot to divert neighbours’ attention but in reality, around eight labourers had started constructing a tunnel which opened in the basement of Soni’s house,” the police official said.

According to police, Agarwal had a lot of debts to pay off and income tax officials had raided his house. “For Agarwal, Soni was a hope, as he had money which he could invest. Through sharing of profit Agarwal was hopeful of repaying his debt,” the police official said.

Jaipur city commissioner of police Anand Shrivasatav said Soni and Agarwal were good friends. “Our prime suspect is

Agarwal, who is a bullion trader. Multiple teams have been formed to nab the mastermind and his aides. Very soon, he would be in police net,” he said.

He added that for the last two days, a team of forensic science laboratory is working on the spot with police teams to collect evidence.