Man shares latest status on WhatsApp, gets robbed of Rs 3.7 crore

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In a classic case of why you should be careful about your social media posts, a businessman was robbed of Rs 3.70 crore by a gang of robbers, who kept a tab on the victim's social media status. According to the police, the man had shared his latest travel plans on Whatsapp that was being monitored by a gang of robbers. The victim was eventually intercepted near Daund station in Pune district and the gang looted him at gunpoint and decamped with valuables worth Rs 3.70 crore gold. However, the Pune rural police got into the act and apprehended four suspects within 48 hours of the robbery and cracked the case.

The accused have been identified as Ganesh Dagadu Pawar (27), Abhijeet alias Balu Dilip Chavan (23), both residents of Nagothane in Solapur while Mohsin Hamzekhan Mulani (25) and Pratamesh Vijay Bhambure (26), the other two arrested are residents of Kalfali Ali in Sangli. The incident took place in the wee hours of Wednesday near Daund railway station and the police suspect that the victim, identified as Appa Shreeram Kadam, a resident of Kauthali in Sangli was robbed by a business rival.

The Pune Rural Superintendent of Police Sandeep Patil said, "Kadam and his assistant were heading back from a business tour of Kolkata and they had gold biscuits in their possession. The duo travelled in a train from Kolkata, got down at Daund to catch a local private vehicle, where they were intercepted and robbed."

He added, "The police recovered 9.5 kg gold including 29 gold biscuits, three gold anklets, four mobile handsets and one air gun from the arrested robbers. We are probing the case."

Local Crime Branch (LCB) Inspector in-charge Padmakar Ghanwat who is investigating the case said, "It seems that the suspect Bhambure is in the same business as Kadam. They purchase gold from Kolkata and other states and resell the valuables in their hometown. The gang threatened Kadam and his assistant at gunpoint, pushed them in a car and robbed the gold biscuits and other valuables including mobiles, the estimated worth of which is Rs 3.70 crore."

He added, "We zeroed in on the suspects based on the description given to us by the complainant. After questioning the arrested suspects, we learnt that the gang was keeping a tab on the businessman by checking his latest status on Whatsapp and other social media platforms. The complainant had posted his travel plans and other business status on social media which helped the gang to monitor him and they eventually looted him at Daund."

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