2 minutes of readingBombayJanuary 29, 2026 07:08 pm IST

The Juhu police arrested two workers on Wednesday for allegedly stealing gold ornaments and cash worth Rs 5.3 lakh from a businessman’s residence in Juhu when the owner had left the state.

The accused, identified as Vijay Devendra, 34, and Shakti Shankar Mandal, 30, both live in Nehru Nagar area of ​​Juhu. Devendra works as a cleaner in a residential apartment in Juhu, while Mandal works as a cleaner in an NGO.
According to the police, the complainant, N Patel, 76, lives in a bungalow situated on JVPD scheme road number 6 in Juhu along with his wife while his son lives abroad. The family is into the rubber production business and the couple left for Gujarat on January 1 for work. Seeing an opportunity, the accused climbed the back wall and entered the bungalow. They broke the door and stole cash, gold and silver ornaments worth Rs 5.3 lakh from the cupboard of the first floor bedroom.

The incident came to light when the family returned on January 8 and found the door broken and gold and silver missing. They then lodged a complaint at the Juhu police station. Juhu police checked the CCTV footage of the building and surroundings and learned that the incident occurred on January 8 and photographs of the accused with their informants circulated. Police soon gained leads on the suspects and both were arrested on Wednesday. During interrogation, accused Devendra revealed that he needed money for his wife’s illness and thus became a party to the crime. Mandal planned the robbery and was standing outside the door to keep watch. Police have recovered some of the stolen loot, said assistant police inspector Ranjit Chavan of Juhu police station.