Less than 48 hours after they assaulted a Gujarat-based businessman and robbed Rs.5.15 crore from him on the National Highway (Nh 48) by posing as policemen, four out of the six accused landed into the custody of the crime branch unit (zone III) of the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) police on Monday.
According to the police, the 24-year-old businessman along with two others including driver-Babu Moda Swami (48) were headed towards Gujarat in a Hyundai Creta car on 17, March. As they were about to cross the Khaniwade toll plaza, Swami stopped the car under the pretext of washing his face at around 9 pm. Immediately after Swami got out of the car, a Maruti Wagon R, which was apparently following them, halted near their parked car. Five men posing as policemen got out of the car and forced one of them to get down and sit in their car.
The other two were asked to remain seated in the Hyundai Creta. The accused drove away both the cars. The businessman and his associates were dropped one-by-one a few kilometres away from each other by the accused before they snatched the bag containing the cash and sped away towards the direction of Palghar. The businessman and his associates were badly assaulted by the accused.
An offence under the relevant sections of the IPC was registered in this context at the Mandvi police station. Sensing the seriousness of the case, MBVV chief- Madhukar Pandey directed the crime branch unit to conduct parallel investigations and nab the culprits at the earliest. Since the robbers seem to be well-informed about the presence of cash, the team led by police inspector- Pramod Badhaakh suspected an inside hand in the crime. After scanning over 50 closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed on the route between Dadar and Khanivde, the police team established the sequence of events after getting hold of some footage in which the faces of the accused were visible.
The police activated their informer network and electronic surveillance system. Based on a tip-off the team apprehended the accused identified as the king-pin- Murugnandan Abhimanyu (46), Manikanand Chaliya (50), Balaprabhu Shanmugam (39) and the businessman’s driver-Babu Moda Swami (48) from Dharavi. It came to light that Swami, who had tipped off the robbers, was part of the conspiracy. Investigations also revealed that the king-pin Murugnandand alias Don who moved around as a social worker in Dharavi had spent 11 years in jail after being convicted for his involvement in a murder in 2007.
Apart from recovering cash amounting more than Rs.4.87 crore, the police also seized both the cars and mobile phones from the possession of the quartet who were remanded to police custody till 28, March. The police are now trying to recover the remaining money and trace their other two accomplices.
