Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, May 27:
Moirang police have managed to pull up a man accused of stealing gold jewellery worth Rs 3.50 lakhs (approximately).
Further acting on his disclosure, police have arrested five other accomplices including his mother.
The accused is identified as Konjengbam Naoton alias Naotomba alias Manihar (20) s/o late Konjengba of Moirang Konjengbam Leikai.
The five accomplices who helped the thief in encashing the stolen booty are mother of the accused K Memcha (53), elder brother Sarat (25), elder sister Sunita alias Ibemtoro (30), Sunita's husband Brojen (33) s/o Sanajao and Moirangthem Budha (28) s/o Tombi of Ngangkhalawai Awang Maning Leikai.
Budha is the proprietor of M/S Gandhi Jewellery located at Moirang Lamkhai.
According to SP Bishnupur district, Jayenta, the prime accused Naoton has been living with one relative Konjengbam Sakhi (65) at Moirang Bazar for the last 8/9 years.
It is reported that Sakhi kept 68 numbers of gold jewellery items worth Rs 8,80,700 (approximately) in a steel chest inside an almirah.
As Naoton came to know of the gold jewellery items kept inside the almirah and of the place where the keys of the almirah were kept, he has been pilfering the gold items little by little since 2005. When Sakhi discovered the disappearance of the jewellery items, Naoton left the house on March 4 this year and has been absconding since then.
During a press briefing at the SP's office today, Naoton disclosed that he was able to procure around Rs 3.50 lakhs by selling the stolen jewellery items.
Out of this, Naoton bought a Kinetic Honda, two digital cameras, two mobile handsets and one printer.
The remaining amount was spent on clothes and his daily expenditure, he confessed.
So far, police have managed to recover 16 sans and 13 channings of gold and one digital camera worth Rs 12,000 from the accused persons.
While Naoton is being detained in police custody for further interrogation, Sarat, Sunita and Brojen have been sent to jail, informed the SP.
Naoton used to encash the stolen jewellery at M/S Gandhi Jewellery in connivance with its proprietor Budha and his younger brother Gandhi, added the SP.