Pune: The Bundgarden police have arrested three men from Dombivli for allegedly attacking a senior railway booking clerk with a knife and robbing him at Pune Railway Station in the early hours of August 18. The police tracked the suspects using footage from more than 150 CCTV cameras installed at railway stations along their escape route, officials said on Tuesday.
The arrested accused have been identified as Jitendra Motiram Rathod (24), a resident of Chalisgaon in Jalgaon district and currently staying in Dombivli; Ishwar Gorakh Chavan (23), a resident of Kannad in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district; and Ajay Madan Chavan (35), also currently residing in Dombivli.
According to police, the victim, Calvin Solomon Gayla (29), a resident of Mundhwa, was on duty at the railway station around 1am on August 18 when two of the accused allegedly attacked him with a knife. They reportedly tied him up and attempted to kill him before fleeing with cash, two mobile phones and a gold chain.
CCTV footage helps police trace escape route
After registering a case, the Bundgarden police began examining CCTV footage to trace the accused. During the investigation, police found that one suspect travelled by a local train towards Lonavala, while another took the Chalukya Express. The two later met at Lonavala, where the third accused allegedly joined them.
The trio then travelled by the Rajkot Express and got down at Kalyan before taking a local train to Dombivli. After reaching Dombivli, they went towards the Dombivli East area and allegedly stopped at a liquor outlet.
Police examined footage from more than 150 CCTV cameras installed at railway stations and along the suspected route from Pune to Dombivli. Police personnel Prakash Avhad and Saras Salvi subsequently received confidential information that the accused were staying at Mumbra Devi Chawl near Bhopar Gaon Kamani in Dombivli.
Acting on the information, a team from the Bundgarden police and the Pune Railway Protection Force (RPF) intelligence branch raided the location around 4am on August 21 and detained all three suspects.
Accused allegedly planned robbery together
During interrogation, police found that Rathod works as an autorickshaw driver, while Chavan has a B.Pharm degree and works at a company in Chakan. The three accused are reportedly childhood friends.
According to police, Ishwar Chavan had called the other two to Chakan. While returning towards Mumbai, the three allegedly conspired to commit the robbery and carried out the attack at Pune Railway Station.
Police have recovered the stolen cash and two mobile phones from the accused. A court has remanded all three accused in police custody until August 25.
