Mira Bhayandar: Exactly three months after he allegedly led a gang to rob a retired government officer attached to the public works department (PWD) to the tune of a booty amounting more than Rs. 34 lakh by staging a fake Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) raid at his apartment in the Airoli area of Navi Mumbai, the mastermind behind the crime was finally arrested from Virar by the crime detection unit of the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) police on Sunday.
The accused who has been identified as-Amit Sanjay Warik (35) is a resident of Chandansar in Virar. In a plot that seemed straight out of Bollywood blockbuster movie- Special 26, six men posing as ACB officers raided the officers apartment on 21, July and under the guise of conducting a search operation decamped with a booty collectively valued at more than Rs 34.85 lakh including cash, wrist watches, gold rings, bracelet and diamond studded ornaments.
Rabale MIDC police had nabbed 11 after raid
Despite insisting for their identity cards, the accused refused and threatened the official and his wife to remain quiet till the search operation gets over. After receiving the complaint, the Rabale MIDC police formed multiple teams and managed to arrest 11 people within 8 hours for their involvement in the crime. While a major part of the stolen booty was recovered from the possession of the accused, one of their accomplices who reportedly masterminded the fake raid managed to evade the police dragnet.
The Rabale police were recently tipped-off about Warik’s presence in Virar following which they sought the help of their MBVV counterparts to track him down. The crime detection team led by senior police inspector- Rajendra Kamble immediately swung into action and arrested Warik within two hours on the virtue of electronic surveillance and crucial information provided by their core informer network. Warik is said to be a habitual offender with multiple offences including cheating and extortion registered against him at police stations across Mumbai and Thane, police said.
