Cops arrest night guard in Global hospital theft case

The Bhoiwada police arrested the suspect allegedly involved in the theft at Global Hospital in the early hours of Wednesday. The police have recovered the stolen amount of Rs9.77 lakh from suspect Ganesh Lakshman Palekar, 26, who was the night security guard and allegedly stole the money on October 24.

The suspect told the police that he was in need of money for his ailing mother's treatment.

Chintan Vartak, a cashier at Global Hospital had reported the theft on the October 25 when he found Rs9.77 lakh missing from the safe.

"Initially, suspecting an insider's hand in the theft, the cashiers where under the scanner because only they had the key to the safe, which used to be kept in a cupboard. During interrogation we found Palekar's answers to be suspicious. We kept him under observation and arrested him at 12.05am on Wednesday," said senior police inspector Sunil Tondvalkar of the Bhoiwada police station.

As per the police, Palekar, who was the nighttime guard at the hospital, took the key from a cupboard to which only the two cashiers had access. "However, Palekar told the police that the cupboard was old and could be easily opened. After getting the key, he opened the safe and hid the cash under his clothes. The next day he reported for duty to avoid suspicion," said Tondwalkar.

Palekar lives in a slum near Kurla with his family and has admitted to having committed the crime.

"He said his mother was ill and needed the money for treatment. He is in police custody," said Tondvalkar.