Kolkata student’s ₹1.5-crore heist unravels after Amazon order exposes trail

A bar of soap, an electric saw and a money-counting machine—unlikely instruments that, investigators say, powered a meticulously planned, multi-crore theft inside a luxury Kolkata apartment. But it was the very tools meant to conceal the crime that ultimately gave it away.

Last month, gold jewellery weighing 1.2 kg, gold biscuits and over ₹26.5 lakh in cash—valued at more than ₹1.5 crore—were stolen from a flat in Tower 3 of Diamond City West, a high-end residential complex in Sarsuna, while the occupants were out of town between January 19 and January 23.

On February 2, Kolkata Police arrested 19-year-old Harshvardhan Shaw, a Bachelor of Computer Applications (BCA) student, alleging that greed and proximity led him to betray a friend who lived in the same building.

According to investigators, Shaw resided on the second floor of the complex, while the victim—a first-year BCA student at a reputed Bhowanipore college—lived on the fifth. Police claim Shaw learned in advance that the family would be away for several days and quietly began preparing for the heist.

Using a bar of soap, Shaw allegedly took an impression of the flat’s key and had a duplicate made. He then ordered a professional electric iron saw and a money-counting machine through Amazon—items police say were purchased solely for the crime. Once inside the vacant flat, he is accused of cutting through the back of the locker and escaping with gold and cash worth over ₹1.5 crore.

When the family returned and discovered the theft, Shaw allegedly attempted to deflect suspicion by offering help. Police say he even took away a neighbor’s CCTV hard disk on the pretext of checking footage—only to steal it and destroy potential evidence.

The absence of forced entry, however, immediately raised red flags. “The scene suggested that the theft had been committed by someone known to the complainant,” a police officer said.

The case broke open after the Anti-Burglary Section at Lalbazar and Sarsuna police analysed footage from over 135 CCTV cameras, examined call detail records and tracked the suspect’s mobile location—placing him inside the flat during the window of the crime.

The decisive clue came from Shaw’s digital footprint: an Amazon order for a money-counting machine placed on January 22, along with online searches for an electric saw.

“During interrogation, the suspect admitted his involvement,” a senior police official said.

Police have since recovered the electric saw, the stolen jewellery and a substantial portion of the cash. Shaw, the son of a Kolkata Municipal Corporation consultant, was produced before the Alipore court on Monday and remanded to police custody till February 8.

A case has been registered under Section 305 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita on charges of theft. The investigation is ongoing as police work to recover the remaining stolen money—and piece together how a crime built on familiarity was undone by a digital paper trail.