The accused had fled to Lonavala with his family and lived there on rent; cops say he was arrested for dacoity and kidnapping in 2008
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A shopaholic has been arrested after four months for stealing Rs 1.2 lakh from his colleague. MIDC police arrested him from Lonavala, where the accused Vipul Vilas Pradhan, was living with his family on rent. Pradhan, a 38-year-old account assistant, initially lived in Thane with his mother, brother and sister. He would spend all his salary on shopping and alcohol and would rely on his siblings. He, however, was in charge of paying the rent for the flat, but in March this year the landlord got in touch with his family members over non-payment of rent.
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“Within a night, the family packed their bags and left the flat and came to live in a hotel named Relax Residency in Sakinaka. Pradhan had claimed that he had joined a new company which was sponsoring their stay at the hotel. They booked two rooms and lived there for 15 days,” said an officer from MIDC police station.
In April, when the hotel authorities asked him to pay up, Pradhan stole the money from his colleague. He had earlier noticed the accountant keeping cash and her ATM card in the office. “The accountant had withdrawn Rs 1.2 lakh for the treatment of her ailing father. However, when she came to the office the next day, she found the money missing and registered a complaint,” another cop said.
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Senior Inspector Satish Gaikwad ordered formation of a dedicated team, led by assistant inspector Kuna Mohite, to track the thief. “During investigation, we found a CCTV camera which recorded Pradhan stealing the money. But we could not track him,” said Mohite.
“For four months, Pradhan and his family were out of reach,” he added. Cops got input earlier this month that Pradhan was hiding in Lonavala and arrested him from there on July 10.
Senior Inspector Gaikwad said, “The accused had fled with his family after paying the hotel bill. He spent the rest of the money on shopping and alcohol.” He further added that Pradhan was arrested along with six others in September 2008 for kidnapping and dacoity in Thane.
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