Pritam Chakraborty’s assistant, Ashish Butiram Sayal, stole Rs 40 lakh. Mumbai police arrested him in Jammu and Kashmir, recovering Rs 34 lakh and devices.
Music Composer Pritam Chakraborty’s Office Boy Arrested For Stealing Rs 40 Lakh Cash From Him
Renowned Bollywood music composer Pritam Chakraborty recently faced an unfortunate incident when his office assistant stole Rs 40 lakh in cash from him. An FIR was soon registered and authorities were investigating the matter. In the latest update, Mumbai police have arrested the man who stole the cash from the music studio of Chakraborty. The suspect, Ashish Butiram Sayal, 32, worked as an office assistant with him. He was taken into custody in Jammu and Kashmir’s Samba district.
Officials from the Malad police station have initiated an investigation following the theft report on February 4. However, CCTV footage from the studio did not provide a clear view of the suspect’s face. To track down the accused, authorities analysed between 150 and 200 CCTV recordings from multiple locations, including Kandivali, Malad, Charkop, Versova, Marve Road, Malwani, and Samta Nagar.
The CCTV footage revealed that Sayal left the studio and boarded a rickshaw to Kandivali. From there, he walked for several hours until he reached Charkop. He then took another rickshaw to Marve Road, walked a short distance, and later arrived in Malwani, where he stayed for some time. His movements continued as he took a rickshaw to Samta Nagar, roamed around the area on foot, and later traveled by rickshaw to Versova. Over the course of eight hours, Sayal moved strategically across multiple locations, alternating between walking and using rickshaws, before eventually exiting the city.
Using technical surveillance, police tracked Sayal to Samba, where a team located him in the Railway Road area and took him into custody. During the arrest, officers recovered approximately Rs 34 lakh in cash, along with an iPhone and a MacBook valued at Rs 2.87 lakh. Investigations revealed that a portion of the stolen money had been spent on purchasing electronic devices, which were subsequently seized by the authorities.
Sayal has been brought back to Mumbai for further legal proceedings.
A complaint was earlier filed at Malad police station after a staff member working for him allegedly made off with Rs 40 lakh from his office. The incident was reported by the composer’s manager, who alerted authorities as soon as the theft was discovered. According to reports, the theft occurred around 2 pm on February 4 at Pritam Chakraborty’s music studio, Unimus Record Pvt. Ltd., located in Goregaon. A representative from a production house had delivered a bag containing Rs 40 lakh in cash to the composer’s manager, Vineet Chedda. At the time of the incident, Sayal, Ahmed Khan, and Kamal Disha were also present at the studio. Authorities are investigating the circumstances surrounding the theft and questioning those present to gather more details.
“The manager, who took the cash, kept it in a trolley bag in the office and subsequently went to Chakraborty’s house, which is in the same building, to get his signature on some documents,” an officer said.
Once he returned, Chedda discovered that the trolley bag containing the cash had vanished. He immediately questioned the other staff members, who claimed that Sayal had taken the bag, saying he was transporting it to Pritam Chakraborty’s residence.
Police revealed that Chedda attempted to contact the suspect, but his calls went unanswered. He grew more suspicious when the suspect switched off his mobile phone entirely. Realising something was amiss, Chedda promptly informed Pritam Chakraborty about the situation, who asked him to immediately file a complaint with the authorities.
The composer, known for his work on blockbuster albums such as Barfi!, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, and Brahmāstra, has not yet issued a public statement regarding the matter.
