Thieves Rent Hotel, Drill Hole In Wall In Film Style Heist To Loot From Next Door Jewelry Store

Thieves looted a jewelry shop in India last June 17 leaving behind evidence of what seemed like a scene straight out of the Netflix series "Money Heist." The suspects ran off with loot amounting to Rs 1.55 lakh ($15.5 million) worth of goods and jewelry from the Jagdamba Jewellers at Bavdhan Budruk in Pune, Maharashtra.

According to the Pune Mirror, the suspects had rented a unit in a hotel next to the jewelry shop, paying a deposit of Rs 10,000 ($ 134). In the case report filed by Vishnu Verma, 21, the shop owner said the men rented the space supposedly with the intent to open a Chinese restaurant.

The culprits even went through all the trouble of buying all the essentials needed to set up their space to dispel any suspicions. They also managed to paint the unit and then set up some furniture. To seem even more genuine, they distributed sweets to nearby shopkeepers a day before committing their planned heist.

Verma relayed how he came to find his shop burglarized in the morning upon opening his store. “Some gold and silver jewelry, laptop, and mobile which were kept in the drawer of the shop are missing," he said.

An attempt was made to open the iron locker with a gas cutter to access its contents of gold ornaments, but the thieves did not succeed. “On the upper floor wall, there was a big hole from there the thieves could have probably entered the shop. The suspects had also stolen the DVR of the CCTV camera,” the complainant added.

Police confirmed the report of a drilled hole in the common wall shared by the hotel and the jewelry shop. The shop owner expressed his suspicion that the same people who had rented the room in the hotel had committed the crime, citing that they were reluctant to make any rent agreement.

A case has been registered at the Hinjewadi police station against the still unidentified suspects. However, authorities believe they could be related to the Jharkhand or Nepali gang who have been notoriously committing such thefts in other cities.

Senior police inspector Balkrishna Sawant said an ongoing investigation is being conducted and a case has been registered against the culprits under sections 454, 457, 380 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).