Office boy allegedly steals ₹40L from Pritam's studio; FIR registered
What's the story
In a shocking incident, an office boy has been accused of stealing ₹40 lakh from the Mumbai studio of renowned music composer Pritam Chakraborty.
The theft reportedly occurred on February 4 at Unimus Record Pvt Ltd in Goregaon.
An FIR has been registered by Malad Police after Chakraborty's manager, Vineet Chedda, lodged a complaint.
The suspect has reportedly been identified as 32-year-old Ashish Sayal.
Theft details
The sequence of events leading to the theft
Per reports, on the day of the incident, an employee of a production house came to Chakraborty's studio around 2:00pm and delivered a bag with ₹40 lakh in cash to Chedda.
Sayal and two other staff members were also present in the office.
"The manager, who took the cash, kept it in a trolley bag in the office and subsequently went to Chakraborty's house," an officer said.
Disappearance
Sayal disappeared with the cash, switched off his phone
A few hours later, Chedda noticed the bag was missing and was told Sayal had taken it, saying he was delivering it to Chakraborty's house.
When Chedda attempted to reach Sayal later, the accused didn't pick up his phone. Eventually, Sayal switched off his phone, raising suspicion.
"On the music composer's advice, he approached the police station and lodged a complaint," an officer added.
Investigation underway
Police launched an investigation under Section 381
The Malad police have registered a case under Section 381 (theft by employees, servants or clerks of their employer's property) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and launched an investigation.
"We are also trying to understand whether he had recently asked anyone for money, as that could help us determine the reason for the theft," an investigative police officer said.
The stolen bag reportedly had 8,000 notes of ₹500.
Delayed action
Chakraborty's initial reluctance to report theft
Initially, Chakraborty had advised his staff to wait as Sayal had been working with him for seven years.
However, after a few days with no sign of Sayal, the matter was finally reported to the police.
Chedda then subsequently approached the court and filed a formal complaint.
Authorities are also questioning others present at the studio for further leads in this case.