Kolhapur teen steals uncle's gold, buys Thar, invites uncle to the vehicle's puja

A shocking theft case has come to light in Panhala taluka of Kolhapur district. Police have arrested a 19-year-old youth accused of stealing 15 tolas of gold jewellery from the house of his cousin-uncle. He used the money from the jewellery to buy a new Mahindra Thar. Police have also detained the jeweller who bought the stolen gold.

According to the police's preliminary information, the incident took place in Satve village of Panhala taluka. Samar Popat Chavan (19), who lives in the village, has a cousin-uncle, Umesh Maruti Chavan, whose house is next door. It is alleged that about a month ago, Samar found an opportunity and stole 15 tolas of gold jewellery from his uncle's house.

He then sold the jewellery through a village jeweller, Sangram Babaso More. He is said to have got about Rs 10 lakh for it. With this money, Samar bought a new Mahindra Thar outright. The sudden arrival of such an expensive vehicle left room for suspicion about his money dealings.

Most surprisingly, after bringing the new vehicle home, Samar invited his uncle, Umesh Chavan, to its puja. But the theft came to light because of this very puja.

While getting ready to go to the puja, Umesh Chavan looked for his gold jewellery kept in a cupboard and found it missing. The grandmother's jewellery in the house was safe. Only the jewellery of Umesh Chavan and his wife was missing, so the family suspected someone in the household or someone close. Umesh Chavan then filed a written complaint of theft at Kodoli police station.

On receiving the complaint, Kodoli police began an investigation. During the probe, police noticed that Samar Chavan had suddenly bought an expensive Thar. He was questioned on where such a large sum had come from.

It is reported that under strict questioning, Samar confessed to stealing the jewellery from his uncle's house. Police then arrested both Samar Chavan and the jeweller Sangram More on the charge of buying stolen gold.

The action was taken under the guidance of probationary Deputy Superintendent of Police Shrikant Thikane. The team included police head constables Yuvraj Patil and Babaso Kite, and police constables Mahesh Kadam, Amol Chavan and Mahesh Shinde.

The story of the nephew who bought a Thar with the stolen money and then invited his uncle to the puja has become a talking point in Satve village. Kodoli police are continuing the investigation.