In a bizarre and persistent crime spree, a confectionery shop in Nadiad, Gujarat, has become the repeated target of burglars with a pronounced sweet tooth. Krishna Dairy Products has been raided an astonishing ten times over the past nine years, with the thieves consistently showing more interest in pilfering mithai than in taking large sums of money.
A Decade of Sweet Thefts and Sour Inaction
The shop's owner, Mukesh Pandit, 44, who started the business in 2015, expressed his frustration over the relentless burglaries. He revealed that the criminals often treat cash as a mere afterthought. "Most of the time, thieves took some cash but loads of mithai - to the tune of quintals," Pandit stated. Despite filing official police complaints on three separate occasions, he claims the authorities have only made procedural 'janva jog' (station diary entries) without cracking a single case.
Security Measures Prove Futile
In an attempt to secure his premises, Pandit installed CCTV cameras. However, in a bold move, the burglars stole the digital video recorder itself, treating it as the "cherry on top of their booty." "Before I could reinstall CCTVs, burglars struck again," he lamented. The shop owner has tried everything from iron grills to high-tech cameras, but to no avail. He pointed out a critical vulnerability: a police picket located near his shop is often left unattended during VVIP visits and festivals when officers are reassigned to bandobust duty. Predictably, the burglaries have occurred precisely on these unprotected days.
The Costly Latest Heist
The most recent break-in occurred on November 30. The audacious thieves made off with a significant haul of sweets and snacks, leaving Pandit with a substantial financial loss. The stolen inventory included:
- 12kg of kaju katri worth Rs 12,000
- 73.5kg of mixed mawa sweets worth Rs 38,200
- 35kg of shrikhand worth Rs 13,300
- Mixed biscuits worth Rs 15,000
- 70kg of namkeen worth Rs 16,800
- Rs 3,500 in cash
The total estimated loss from this single incident amounted to Rs 98,800. This pattern of thefts over nearly a decade highlights not just the vulnerability of small businesses but also raises serious questions about the effectiveness of local law enforcement in preventing recurring property crimes. For Mukesh Pandit, the dream of running a successful sweet shop has turned into a recurring nightmare of inventory loss and broken security.
