Pune city police have arrested Aishwarya Sanjay Garad, a 25-year-old woman preparing for bank exams, on charges of drugging her friend and former roommate, then stealing gold ornaments worth Rs5.46 lakh. The arrest was made on April 3, following a complaint filed with the Bharati Vidyapeeth Police by a 31-year-old woman from Ambegaon Budruk.
According to the FIR, Garad and the complainant had previously been roommates. On March 6, Garad visited her friend at her home, bringing cold coffee. After drinking the coffee, the woman lost consciousness, and when she woke up hours later, Garad had already left. A similar incident occurred on March 26, when Garad again offered her coffee. The complainant felt sleepy after drinking it, but this time, she became unwell, prompting her to seek medical attention with her husband.
On March 30, the woman was preparing to wear her gold jewellery for Gudi Padwa but discovered that the jewellery, worth Rs5.46 lakh, had been stolen from her cupboard. While discussing the matter with her husband, the woman recalled feeling faint after drinking the coffee on both occasions. Suspecting the coffee had been laced with sedatives, she called Garad, who admitted to stealing the jewellery but did not return it.
The woman then filed a police complaint, and Garad was arrested under sections 305 (theft at a house) and 123 (hurting with poison) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The police have recovered the stolen jewellery, and Garad’s preparations for bank exams were noted as part of the investigation.
Senior Inspector Savalaram Salgaonkar of Bharati Vidyapeeth Police Station confirmed that further investigations are underway.
