Mumbai: Arrests of 2 ‘accomplices’ in Rajasthan helped cops crack Tardeo case

The trio at the Tardeo police station on Thursday

It was the arrests of two alleged accomplices in Jhalawar, Rajasthan, on August 16 that led to the apprehension of Sumit Tatwal, 37, who allegedly masterminded the robbery that led to the death of the senior citizen Surekha Agrawal, in Tardeo's Yusuf Manzil building. One of the alleged perpetrators is absconding. The police apprehended Tatwal, a distant relative of the victims, from Malad on Wednesday.

On August 13, three unknown people barged into the Agrawals' residence, tied Madanmohan, 75, and Surekha, 69, with cello tape and stuffed cloth in their mouths. Tatwal, who was employed in the Kalbadevi branch of the victim's jewellery shop, told the authorities, "Ab kiya hai toh saza milegi" after he was nabbed. According to the police, Tatwal was the kingpin as he had allegedly contacted one of the accused, Surendra Singh Jhala, 34, months ago in Delhi and the duo had planned the entire crime and even formed the team to execute it.

According to Akbar Pathan DCP, Zone 3, "All the three accused - Jhala, Rajaram Meghwal and the one who is absconding - came to Mumbai from Rajasthan on August 9 to commit the crime. They resided in a hotel till they successfully executed their plan. Their initial strategy was to barge into the house on August 12, but they failed." On August 12, the accused had asked Mandanlal Agrawal whether one Saksena resided in their flat. As he replied in the negative and shut the door, they couldn't barge in.

But the following day, they first removed the bulb from the hallway of the third floor where the couple resided. After Madanmohan opened the door, they barged in. They then tied his hands and legs. Surekha met with the same fate. According to the police, the accused were at the crime scene for about 50 minutes. They then travelled via taxi to Dadar where they caught a bus.

In a bid to nab the accused, the police went to Pune. A team was later sent to Indore, Madhya Pradesh as the authorities had received a tip-off from reliable sources. "We were told that the accused could be in Ujjain. We traced all the buses heading from Indore to Ujjain but we couldn't trace the accused," said the DCP. The team finally ended up in Jhalawar, Rajasthan.

The police came to know about the identity of the accused and learnt that Jhala owned an eatery in Jhalawar. Though they laid a trap at the establishment, the accused didn't show up. "The phone locations of the alleged accused differed from their actual location," said the DCP.

The cops then learnt that Meghwal, 31, was travelling through a nearby bushy area and arrested him around 12.20 am on August 16. Based on information revealed by him, the arrests of Jhala, and eventually Tatwal, were possible. The trio were produced in front of a magistrate court in Mumbai on August 17. The court had remanded them in police custody for 13 days

The police have seized 1,818 grams of gold, diamonds and other valuables from the accused. It is estimated that the group had managed to rob assets and cash worth Rs 2.69 crore from the couple. Pathan said, "We are ascertaining whether other family members are involved in the crime." A source said, "Other relatives are most likely not involved in the crime. Tatwal might have heard about the couple's wealth and chalked out the crime." Jhala and Tatwal have claimed that they have committed other crimes, but the police are verifying these utterances. "We will soon apprehend the remaining accused." said the DCP.

August 13
Day robbery occurred