Ahmedabad police arrest employee in Rs 1.66 crore gold theft case

Ahmedabad police arrested Harshida Shetty, 38, after a showroom theft at Aabhushan Jewellers in Gravity Shopping Mall was pegged at Rs 1,66,88,437, a case that has sharpened attention on the risks hidden inside the counter, the vault and the repair tray.

The theft came to light around 5 pm on May 11, when staff noticed a gold coin was missing. Police said CCTV footage later showed Shetty removing chains, rings, lockets and mangalsutras during the owner’s lunch break, tucking the pieces into her clothing and bag, then leaving around 4.30 pm after saying she had an emergency.

Darshan Shah, who said he had been running the showroom for about two-and-a-half years, employed 19 staff members and had hired Shetty about 11 months earlier. That detail matters in jewellery retail, where trust is built piece by piece, often around gold handed over for repair, exchange or inspection. A single employee with routine access can become the weakest point in an otherwise polished operation.

Police responded with a wide sweep. Multiple teams were formed, and investigators said nearly 300 CCTV camera feeds were scanned as they worked to trace the accused. The case moved from a missing coin to a much larger question of inventory control, access management and proof of custody inside a business where even a brief lunch break can create an opening.

Officers recovered jewellery and other stolen property worth Rs 22,54,500 from Shetty’s possession, including a gold bracelet valued at Rs 9.98 lakh, a gold mangalsutra worth Rs 7.43 lakh, a gold chain valued at Rs 3.62 lakh and an eagle-embossed gold ring studded with white stones priced at Rs 1.34 lakh, along with a mobile phone. Police also said Shetty and Mayur Mali had allegedly planned the theft together.

Investigators said the pair travelled from Ahmedabad to Udaipur, then Jaipur and Delhi, before Mali allegedly fled with most of the jewellery. He remains absconding. The scale of the loss, and the relatively small portion recovered, underlines how quickly a showroom’s stock can vanish when employee access is not paired with strict ledger controls, restricted handling and a written trail for every item that leaves the safe.

For customers, the lesson is clear: when gold is left with a jeweler, the handover should be as carefully documented as the purchase. A sealed receipt, item-by-item description, timestamped intake, separate repair log and clear chain of custody are not extras in a business like this. They are the difference between a trusted visit and a costly disappearance.