jodhpur man steals gold from indore friend for sarpanch election

Accused Gopal alias Gopi Jakhar in Indore Police custody

Jodhpur: With Panchayati Raj elections approaching in Rajasthan, police have arrested a man from Garasani village in Jodhpur district for allegedly stealing gold worth over Rs 1 crore from the home of his woman friend in Indore. After the theft, he returned to his village in Rajasthan and, according to police, buried the gold biscuits and jewellery in a pit dug inside his house to avoid the police.

The case came to light when the woman found valuables missing from the cupboard at her home. His phone was also switched off repeatedly, and she lodged an FIR with the police. Indore Police acted quickly and detained him on the basis of technical surveillance. During questioning, he allegedly revealed his plan to contest the sarpanch election and spend heavily on the campaign. At his instance, the police recovered gold biscuits and jewellery worth over Rs 1 crore from his place in Jodhpur.

Accused was living in woman friend's house

According to the police investigation and the complaint of the victim, Renu Sharma (44), a resident of BCM Park, Nipania Main Road, Indore, the accused, Gopal alias Gopi Jakhar (25), a resident of Garasani in Jodhpur, was living in her house. Between 10 August and 13 September, he saw gold biscuits and jewellery kept in the cupboard of the house. It was during this period that he got the idea of going to his village and contesting the upcoming Panchayati Raj elections for the post of sarpanch.

Gold allegedly taken from cupboard

Considering the heavy expenses of campaigning and winning over voters, the accused allegedly took gold biscuits and other jewellery worth over Rs 1 crore from the cupboard. Immediately after the theft, he left Indore, went straight to his village in Jodhpur and switched off his mobile phone so that no one could reach him.

Gold buried in pit

After her calls went unanswered and a large quantity of gold went missing from the house, the woman suspected Gopal and filed a complaint at the concerned police station in Indore. Under the guidance of DCP Aman Singh Rathore, a police team began investigating the case. The team detained Gopal alias Gopi Jakhar from Jodhpur and questioned him. After initially trying to mislead the police, he confessed to the crime.

The accused told the police that he chose his ancestral home in Rajasthan to hide the stolen goods. He dug a deep pit inside the house and buried the gold biscuits and jewellery in it. At his instance, the police recovered and seized a 630-gram gold biscuit worth about Rs 1 crore, a 40-gram gold chain, Rs 2 lakh in cash and an expensive mobile phone.

Accused's statement on sarpanch bid

During questioning, Gopi Jakhar, 25, admitted that sarpanch elections are due next month in his village, Garasani. He wanted to establish his political standing in the village and had made full preparations to contest. He needed a large budget to fight the election and also wanted to pursue his expensive hobbies. He carried out the theft for this reason, he told the police.

The police have recovered the items and arrested the accused. His political and criminal record is being examined.