Mumbai: Fashion designer arrested for stealing necklace during wedding ceremony

The Bandra police have arrested a 26-year-old fashion designer who is accused of allegedly stealing her friend’s necklace worth Rs 7 lakh while they were attending a wedding ceremony of another mutual friend in a five star hotel at Bandstand in Bandra west few days back.

The accused lady Meghna Punjabi allegedly tried hard to evade suspicion against her thereby acting innocent to get away from cops.

Punjabi was produced before the court but granted bail as the stolen property was recovered from her. 

According to the Bandra police, the complainant, Shivani Bohra, 28 years old, who is a make-up artist had alleged to the police that while she had gone to a businessman friend’s wedding with a group of six to seven friends and colleagues, Punjabi was also a part of that group.

"Punjabi wanted to borrow some clothes and checked Bohra’s bag when the necklace fell down and instead of keeping it back in her bag, she stole it. While interrogating she confessed her crime and said that she was going through some financial crises and stole this necklace in the spur of the moment," said a police officer.

On May 26, Bohra approached the Bandra police and FIR was lodged under section 380 of the Indian Penal Code. Following her complaint to evade suspicion, Punjabi also told the police that she lost her bracelet in the same venue.  

"After examining the CCTV footages we called the complainant and her four friends who were closely accompanying her at the wedding and we suspected one of them. Punjabi's act of theft was captured in the CCTV provided by the hotel. Punjabi later confessed that she stole the necklace as she was going through financial crises. The stolen property was recovered from her," the officer added.