In two separate incidents, the Mumbai and Thane Rural Police arrested a group of wanted accused who had trespassed and looted valuables and electronic goods worth more than Rs 7.5 Crore.
As the country is fighting the pandemic and amidst the lockdown, there are still some troublemakers out there who feel that this is the perfect time to indulge in some mischief. Not giving a respite to the police personnel who are out in full force on the streets manning every area to prevent people from breaking lockdown, these lawbreakers took advantage of the situation.
Within a week of a jewellery shop at Andheri reporting a break-in and looting at their store, the City Police arrested seven people, including the main conspirator and the store watchman.
The arrests were made on the evening of April 27, 2020. All the accused were booked under relevant Sections of the Indian Penal Code for house break-in, trespassing and robbery.
According to the police, the incident took place on May 22. The owner of an Andheri-based jewellery shop approached the police and complained about a theft at his shop. The owner claimed that the robbers fled with valuables worth Rs 7.09 Crore. “A special team of five police officers were formed and sent to suspected places like Vasai, Aarey, Kurla and Powai where the accused would have taken refuge. The probe revealed that the accused had broken into the workshop by cutting the cement ceiling,” said a police officer attached to the investigation team.
Police activated their informers, who tipped them about Vipul Chambariya, 35, owner of a NGO that provides food packets and essentials to the needy amid this lockdown. Acting on this information, the police detained Chambariya on Monday, April 27 and questioned his whereabouts. It was revealed that the accused received help from a stock broker known to the complainant. The stock broker, Diman Chauhan, 32, gave them information about the premises as well as the valuables stored therein.
“Using a combination of human intelligence and technical investigation, we zeroed in on seven people, including the mastermind, Vipul Chambriya, who runs Ekta Foundation in Andheri. It was only after Chambriya and his co-accused were arrested that we learned how well the robbery was planned,” Senior Police Inspector Jagdish Shinde, MIDC Police Station said.
“After receiving the required information, Chambariya approached the workshop’s watchman, Munnaprasad Khairvar, 49, who aided the break-in. We found leads on all the accused involved in this crime and arrested four more people, all related to the NGO headed by the main conspirator, Chambariya. He broke into the workshop by cutting the ceiling with the help of a grinder cutter. We have recovered valuables worth Rs. 5.30 Crore,” said Ankit Goyal, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 10).
“The accused had gathered information on other units in the area and had planned more strikes. However, they had not expected such a large amount on their first job itself and decided to lie low till matters cooled down,” Jagdish Shinde said.
Along with Chambariya, Chauhan and Khairvar, MIDC Police also arrested Lakshman Dandu, 35, Shankar Yeshu, 42, Rajesh Marpakka, 29, and Vikas Chanwadi, 24. All accused were booked under relevant Sections of the Indian Penal Code and produced in a local magistrate court on April 28, where they were remanded to police custody for five days.
The Thane Rural Police also had their share of success in a robbery case. They arrested 19-year-old Yash Dongre, one of the accused that pulled off a robbery at a warehouse of a logistics management company in Bhiwandi. The robbers decamped with electronic goods worth more than Rs 40 lakhs last week.
The break-in was reported from the warehouse located in Wadpa village on April 21. Three expensive television sets and more than 200 high-end mobile phones worth Rs. 40.50 lakhs were stolen.
The Superintendent of Police, Dr. Shivaji Rathod, deputed the LCB team to conduct parallel investigations under the supervision of Additional SP – Sanjay Kumar Patil.
One of our informers overheard the accused talking to his friends about the heist and alerted police personnel Hanumant Gaikar, following which, we zeroed in on Yash and his accomplice, Yogesh Patil,” said Senior Police Inspector Vyankat Andhale.
Apart from recovering stolen goods amounting to Rs 34.69 lakhs, the police team also seized the pick-up jeep used in the crime. Said to be habitual robbers, the accused have been booked under Sections 380, 454 and 457 of the IPC. Further investigations are underway.
Our Correspondent
