MUMBA, OCTOBER 19, 2004
TNN

The desire to have a lavish lifestyle and own a plush house drove an educated couple to crime on Saturday night when they robbed an NRI friend of his life's earnings.

Vaishali Gaikwad and Ghulam Baharuni, Grant Road residents, were on the lookout for jobs to save up and buy a bigger house when Gaikwad's childhood friend Diwakar Baliga came visiting from Dubai.

While speaking to him, they discovered that Baliga, a manager with a Swiss watch company, owned jewellery and imported watches worth lakhs of rupees. Eventually, they decided to drug him and flee with his valuables to earn a quick buck and help fund their plans for the future, the police said.

According to the police, Baliga had been a resident of Grant Road and stayed in the same building where Gaikwad stayed before moving to Dubai as a manager with the watch company, Appella. In the mean time, Gaikwad completed her graduation and took up part-time jobs till she could find a job with a reputed organisation.

However, last week Gaikwad and Baharuni met Baliga when he came to the city on vacation. He invited the couple for dinner at his Mira Road flat. "The duo were having a hard time scrounging money so they were impressed on seeing Baliga's collection of jewellery worth about Rs 14 lakh. Over dinner, they made their plans and gave Baliga an overdose of liquor to lay their hands over his wealth," the police said.

The duo were finally arrested on Sunday as they were trying to cross the city limits towards Gujarat. Confessing to the crime, Baharuni told the police that he wanted to marry Gaikwad, a divorcee, but was unable to save up enough money for a house with his job in a supermarket.

Gaikwad's parents, who were well-to-do bankers and operated a joint bank account with their daughter, had also refused to part with any money. This drove the couple to commit the crime, the police said.

The police have recovered the jewellery and watches from the couple.