Gujarat: FIR registered in Rs 45 crore Lilavati trust jewellery theft case

Ahmedabad, Oct 31 (PTI) An FIR was registered against 13 people in connection with the alleged theft of valuables, including diamond and jewellery, worth Rs 45 crore from a safe vault at the trust-run Lilavati hospital in Palanpur city in Banaskantha district of Gujarat, officials said on Sunday.

The stolen valuables belonged to the Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust that manages the Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai.

As per complainant Prashant Mehta, the accused persons, including his uncles, conspired with each other to carry out the theft of valuables kept in the safe vault in the building housing the hospital in Palanpur city on January 31, 2019.

The complainant is the son of Kishor Mehta, a permanent trustee, and the grandson of Kirtilal Mehta who founded the trust.

Prashant Mehta, who claims to be a "de facto" trustee, had moved court after the police initially refused to lodge an FIR. The FIR was finally registered on Saturday afternoon on the directions of the court in Palanpur.

The FIR was registered at the Palanpur East police station under sections 380 (theft in dwelling house), 406 (Punishment for criminal breach of trust), and 120 B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), a police official said.

The complainant stated the key to the vault kept inside the Mani Bhavan building that houses the Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Charitable Hospital in Palanpur was in the possession of his father Kishor Mehta. He alleged that some of his relatives broke the locker of the safe vault to take away the valuables, the official said quoting the FIR.

He said the accused persons, who are no longer trustees, conspired with each other to renovate the building and break the safety vault and decamped with valuables.

The stolen valuables include 3.5 kg gold jewellery, 8.5 carat diamond of Maharaja of Baroda, valuables including gold and silver jewellery, including silver plates, a throne, a ring, etc., which are worth around Rs 40-45 crore, as per the FIR, the official said. PTI KA NSK NSK