NAVSARI, GUJARAT: On Thursday, days after four laborers were arrested from Madhya Pradesh in connection with the theft of rare gold coins from a house in Gujarat, one more person was arrested by the authorities for the same. This latest arrest led to the police recovering 41 coins worth Rs 19 lakh. This is in addition to the 199 gold coins that police recovered when they arrested the four laborers in December. The five accused had been hired to demolish a house in Navsari, Gujarat but ended up allegedly stealing rare gold coins bearing the image of King George V. The coins and the house, according to a PTI report, belong to an NRI named Hawaben Balia who is currently residing in the city of Leicester in the United Kingdom.  

Sushil Agarwal, Superintendent of Police for Navsari, was quoted as saying “During interrogation of the arrested accused, it was revealed one Mukesh Bhayadia had kept 30 coins with himself. Moreover, a minor was also in possession of 11 stolen coins. These 41 gold coins were mortgaged for Rs 5.81 lakh by the accused.”

"Our team arrested Mukesh Bhayadia from Alirajpur and have recovered 41 coins worth Rs 19 lakh from a local jeweler who had given a loan of Rs 5.81 lakh to the accused against these coins. We have so far recovered 240 gold coins worth Rs 1.11 crore," he added. 

The probe and the arrests that followed began after an FIR was lodged against contractor Sarfaraz Karadiya and four laborers on the basis of a complaint made by house owner Hawaben Balia. All five accused have been charged under Indian Penal Code sections 406 (breach of trust) and 114 (abettor present at spot when offence is committed), with the police saying that all five have confessed to the crime. 

To add to this, four policeman from Madhya Pradesh have also been arrested after one of the aforementioned laborers claimed they had looted some of the gold coins.