The Bhatter and Co showroom on Kalakar Street in Burrabazar on Wednesday. The silver was stolen from the adjoining workshop of the 65-year-old jewellery store. Picture by Amit Datta

Over 100kg of pure silver worth around Rs 36 lakh was stolen on Tuesday from the workshop of Bhatter and Co, the jewellery store on Kalakar Street in Burrabazar, less than a week before Dhanteras.

Police said sheets of silver were carried away, possibly in gunny bags, between Monday midnight and Tuesday dawn, when there was no one in the workshop except Tulsi Singh and Ankush Sharma.

Buying silver is a ritual for many communities in the run-up to Diwali. The stolen silver was unfinished, some of it in the form of bars, to be made into Dhanteras items.

Ankush, who hails from Nawada district in Bihar, is missing since the theft came to light on Tuesday morning when manager Shiv Kumar Bhatter turned up to open the adjoining showroom at 9.30am.

Tulsi, in his late 20s, worked as a peon for the Bhatters. Ankush was an attendant who would supply tea to the workers and had been working there for two years.

Officers from Posta police station and their counterparts in the detective department have started a probe but no arrest had been made till late on Wednesday.

“The complainant, Rakesh Joshi (a store manager), claims 101kg of silver has gone missing. We’ve started interrogating people and a breakthrough should come soon,” city detective chief Damayanti Sen said.

The workshop closes at 9pm, about half an hour after the shop. Ankush and Tulsi used to sleep in the workshop.

Police sources said they were also trying to ascertain the veracity of the claim. “Lifting 101kg of silver in gunny bags and fleeing is not an easy thing to do on Kalakar Street, where hundreds of people sleep on the pavements at night,” said a senior officer working on the case.

“We are checking whether someone is trying to stage a heist to fob off moneylenders. Usually, before Dhanteras, all the dues need to be cleared,” the officer added.

Shiv Kumar Bhatter apparently found Tulsi in a semi-conscious state on Tuesday morning. The workshop gate was locked from outside. Tulsi told the police someone had “sprinkled a powder” on his face, following which he passed out.

The Bhatters’ silverware business was started 65 years ago by Shri Krishnaji Bhatter, who came from Gangashahar in Bikaner, Rajasthan. Over the years, the stakeholders branched out and now there are nine Bhatter shops in the city, said Shiv Kumar.

“The first Bhatter shop was set up on Harrison Road and moved to its present location on Kalakar Street about 45 years ago,” he added.

Based on Tulsi’s inputs and with Bhatter in tow, a police team went around interrogating people who may have known about Bhatter’s stocks. Another team is trying to trace Ankush.

“While our Dhanteras plans won’t be hit, production will slow down till the replacements come,” said a store manager.