Pune: A man addicted to gambling, who had previously sold his farmland and lost the money in gambling, was arrested for stealing gold ornaments worth ₹1.37 lakh from his sister's house in Pimpri to fund his online gambling habit. The stolen ornaments, weighing 125 grams, have been recovered.

The accused, identified as Shrikant Dashrath Pangare (29), is a resident of Kumbhejalgav, Gevrai, Beed district. For the past four months, he had been staying at his sister’s house in Walhekarwadi, Pimpri, while working as a food delivery agent.

The incident came to light on January 13 when a burglary was reported at the sister's residence. The Chinchwad police, along with the Crime Branch, began investigating the case. A meticulous examination of the crime scene revealed no signs of forced entry on the back door or the cupboard.

Additionally, it was impossible to open the inner latch of the door from outside. This led the police to suspect that the theft was carried out by someone from within the family.

Upon investigating the family members, police learned that the complainant runs a pharmacy, and her husband works outside during the day. Further inquiries into Shrikant’s background revealed his gambling habit and that he had lost all the proceeds from selling five acres of farmland in gambling.

As suspicion on Shrikant grew, police arrested him while he was preparing to flee to his hometown. During questioning, Shrikant confessed to stealing gold ornaments from his sister’s house to repay debts and continue his online gambling.

He had intentionally left the back door unlocked and stolen the ornaments from the cupboard when no one was at home. To divert suspicion, Shrikant even accompanied his sister to the police station to file a complaint about the burglary. The stolen ornaments, valued at ₹1.37 lakh, have been recovered.