ULHASNAGAR: Seven masked men armed with swords and knives stole gold jewellery and cash totalling Rs 43 lakh from a priest’s residence inside Swami DamaRam Sahib Darbar in Ulhasnagar on Tuesday morning. The dacoity has shocked locals as the darbar is located in the busy Shriram Chowk area and nearly 700m from Vithalwadi police station.
Around 5.15am, two members of the gang broke into the darbar of which Jacky Jagiasi is the head priest. As they opened the main door for their aides, Jagiasi, his wife Varsha and son Chirag (14) woke up. “I managed to get hold of one of the men but when he hit me with the handle of the chopper, I let him go,” Chirag told TOI.
One of the men then held a sword against Jagiasi’s eight-year-old daughter Diya’s throat and told the family to hand over the locker keys.
Jagiasi said: “The men cleaned out the locker. They also snatched our phones to check if we had recorded them in the act. They dumped the phones in a basket near the door before fleeing.” The men took the DVR of CCTV cameras installed inside the darbar.
Thane police have formed teams to trace the accused who fled in a car stolen from Navi Mumbai. The local crime branch is also investigating the case.
Former corporator Dhananjay Borade said the area has become a den for criminals as bars and gambling dens have mushroomed recently.
Around 5.15am, two members of the gang broke into the darbar of which Jacky Jagiasi is the head priest. As they opened the main door for their aides, Jagiasi, his wife Varsha and son Chirag (14) woke up. “I managed to get hold of one of the men but when he hit me with the handle of the chopper, I let him go,” Chirag told TOI.
One of the men then held a sword against Jagiasi’s eight-year-old daughter Diya’s throat and told the family to hand over the locker keys.
Jagiasi said: “The men cleaned out the locker. They also snatched our phones to check if we had recorded them in the act. They dumped the phones in a basket near the door before fleeing.” The men took the DVR of CCTV cameras installed inside the darbar.
Thane police have formed teams to trace the accused who fled in a car stolen from Navi Mumbai. The local crime branch is also investigating the case.
Former corporator Dhananjay Borade said the area has become a den for criminals as bars and gambling dens have mushroomed recently.