Two migrant laborers murdered for alleged silver theft

Rajkot: The owner and employees of a silver and imitation jewelery manufacturing unit allegedly killed two migrant laborers in Thorala area of Rajkot. The deceased have been identified as Rahul Shaikh (25) and Meenu Shaikh (26), residents of West Bengal.

Officials said on Saturday that the incident occurred on October 12 and the investigation is still ongoing. On suspicion of theft of silver, Rahul and Meenu were called to the upper floor of the factory, where they were allegedly beaten with wooden and plastic sticks. After becoming unconscious, he was locked in the security guard’s room.

According to the accused, Rahul was dismissed from the factory seven months ago on suspicion of silver theft. However, he was rehired just ten days before the incident. When discrepancies in the silver stocks were discovered he was interrogated and later attacked.

Authorities have detained seven people for questioning. These include factory owner Sagar Savalia, manager Vipul Molia and factory employees Himalaya and Dhawal.

Apart from this, two contractors Tanmay and Pradeep, who were responsible for bringing the migrant workers, as well as factory security guard Pushpendra have also been taken into custody. The crime came to light when the 108 ambulance service received a call on Friday morning, informing them about two unconscious labourers. Upon investigation, the medical team found that Rahul and Meenu were already dead and the paramedics immediately informed the police.

Initial examination of the victims found injury marks on their bodies, prompting law enforcement agencies to launch a full-scale investigation into the case.

Initial inquiries indicated that MBS Ornaments stock was reduced by 3 kg of silver. Factory managers and security guards started keeping a close watch on the workers. The security guard allegedly recovered 100 grams of stolen silver from Rahul when he was leaving the premises after completing his shift on Thursday night.

Rahul confessed to the theft and said that he had resorted to theft due to urgent financial needs. He also confessed to taking Meenu’s help in selling the stolen silver in the market. It is noteworthy that Meenu was not a factory employee.
(IANS).