SHAMLI: Deepak Sharma, the owner of a liquor shop in Shamli, was confused and depressed. Money was disappearing from his shop and there was no trace of the thief. In the last couple of months, he had sacked a number of employees, but the problem continued. On Tuesday morning, he saw a piece of cloth stuck in a narrow hole on the floor tile. He tugged at it and suddenly there was the "thief".
The tile came off to reveal a huge rat hole with over Rs 11,400 in cash stuffed in it. A few of the notes had been nibbled at the edges, but the rest were intact.
These mice were no ordinary ones. Their modus operandi was simple yet effective. Since money was kept locked inside a drawer, they would enter from a hole at the back, so stealthily that it wouldn't be caught on camera and never when the shopkeeper or his assistants were around.
Since money would disappear between the night and morning daily, Sharma was left bamboozled. He started suspecting salesmen but was proved wrong time and again.
"I knew the mice were consuming liquor as I often found chewed-off plastic bottles at my shop. But I never realised that they were stashing my money as well. I found some notes torn but the rest were, thankfully, safe," Sharma told TOI. Vinod Jain, a local resident, said, "People were excited at first after hearing about the money being discovered from under the floor of the shop. However, when they heard of the actual reason, they were blown away." Sharma said it would take about Rs 2,500 to get the floor repaired.
