Just 12 hours after a jeweler was shot dead in broad daylight in Dahisar, five accused have been arrested from Gujarat on Thursday. The accused had hatched the plan in Madhya Pradesh. The police are investigating if the accused have a past criminal record and are ascertaining if MCOCA charges can be invoked.
Joint commissioner of police (law & order) Vishwas Nangre Patil said that the three assailants, Ayush Pandey (19), Nikhil Chandal (19) and Uday Bali (21) were called in from Madhya Pradesh by the main conspirator Banti Patidar (22), who is at large. “The main accused had procured two country-made pistols from Madhya Pradesh. The accused reached Mumbai on Tuesday and the next day they stole a two-wheeler that was used in the crime,” Patil said.
The police had received a tip off that one of the victim’s, Shailendra Pandey, distant relative had given shelter to the accused. "We reached the place and found the trio holed up there,” Patil said.
The police said it was a planned robbery. “The assailants fired two shots at Shailendra Pandey. They then stole 30 tolas of gold from the shop and fled. CCTV footage shows that the accused had come in a car, whose owner is Chirag Rawal. While Rawal earlier tried to evade questions, he finally broke down and revealed that he had picked up the assailants near Sanjay Gandhi National Park,” an official said.
Chirag had given them Rs 5,000 to flee to Surat. He, along with a delivery boy Ankit Mahadik, had done a recce of the place. "On Chirag's instructions, after dumping the bike near Fountain Hotel in Bhayandar, they rented a car for Rs 3,000 and fled to Surat.
The cops have recovered one country-made weapon. They are on the lookout for Patidar.
