Nearly a fortnight after they robbed gold bars worth more than Rs.25 lakh from the 61-year-old employee working at an ornament showroom, both the accused have been arrested by the crime detection unit attached to the Bhayandar police station for their involvement in the crime.
The brazen daylight robbery was reported in Bhayandar (west) at around 3:30 pm on 26, November. The employee identified as-Balkrishna Bhagoji Abgul (61) was returning to his workplace in Nallasopara after collecting gold bars weighing 375 grams from an industrial unit in Bhayandar, when an auto-rickshaw stopped near him on the station road.
After engaging Abgul in a vague conservation the auto-rickshaw driver with sleight of his hand, removed the packet containing the gold bars and drove away from the spot along with the occupant. Based on the complaint filed by Abgul, an offence under sections 304 (snatching) and 3(5) (common intention) was registered against the unidentified duo at the Bhayandar police station. On the virtue of footage captured by closed circuit tele-vision (CCTV) cameras supported by electronic surveillance, the investigating team led by senior police inspector- Jitendra Kamble under the supervision of DCP (Zone I)-Prakash Gaikwad zeroed-in on the suspects identified as- Sunil Nimba Patil (56) and Ramakrishna Chhotelal Yadav (46). Patil and Yadav were arrested from Bhadgaon village (Jalgaon district) and Kalyan (Thane district) respectively.
The police team also recovered gold bars weighing 301 grams worth around Rs.20 lakh from the possession of the duo who have been remanded to custody. Further investigations revealed their involvement in five similar offences committed by them in the jurisdiction of the police stations including Navghar in Bhayandar, Narpoli and Vartak Nagar in Thane.
“Citizens should remain extremely careful while interacting with strangers-especially when they are carrying valuables. In case of emergency, citizens should immediately dial helpline number 112 so that the patrolling team can reach the spot at the earliest.” appealed Gaikwad. Meanwhile the accused duo were remanded to police custody till 15, December by the district sessions court, Thane.
