11 July,2016 08:21 AM IST | | Shashank Rao
Officers from Karjat GRP arrested a sweeper on Saturday for stealing a revolver belonging to a retired army constable and later dumping it in a nullah near Karjat railway yard
Officers from Karjat GRP arrested a sweeper on Saturday for stealing a revolver belonging to a retired army constable and later dumping it in a nullah near Karjat railway yard. Moreover, the officers managed to recover the firearm yesterday following a four-hour-long search operation.
The revolver was recovered after a four-hour search
The case
On July 2, Rajbahadur Yadav (38) registered a complaint at the Karjat GRP police station about his bag being stolen from the luggage rack. In his complaint, Yadav told the cops that he was on his way to Uttar Pradesh after attending his niece's birthday party and was supposed to get off at Kalyan to catch a connecting train.
Yadav said, "I boarded the last local from Thane on July 2. Since I had downed a few pegs at the party, I dozed off at Diva station. When I woke up, the same train had reached Bhivpuri station after becoming a CST-bound local in the morning. Upon reaching for my bag, I realised it was missing. I went back to Karjat and registered a case of theft with the GRP."
In his complaint, Yadav said the bag contained crucial documents, including his ID card, PAN card, and a few clothes. But above all, it had a .32 calibre licensed revolver worth R90,000 loaded with three bullets worth Rs 270 each.
Inspector Santosh Dhanavate said, "Following Yadav's FIR, we formed a team along with Karjat police to trace the accused. Following a week-long investigation, we detained five to six sweepers deployed at Karjat yard."
Following sustained interrogations, one of the sweepers confessed to the crime and said he panicked after finding a revolver in the bag, following which he dumped it in the nearby nullah. The sweeper was identified as Ambivli resident Akash Navnat Gaikwad (25). He was booked under Section 379 (theft) of the IPC and is now in GRP custody.
Following Gaikwad's confession, they pressed a few labourers and a JCB into action last morning at the spot where he had dumped the revolver. "First we stopped the flow of water and then used the JCB to desilt the nullah. We recovered the firearm following a four-hour-long search operation."
Thanking the cops for recovering his revolver, Yadav said, "I lost five kilos in the last one week due to stress. But thanks to the police, I can now heave a sigh of relief."
