Mumbai: Seven, including staffer, held for looting Rs 75L at knifepoint in Malad

A team of 80 police personnel was dedicated to solving the crime

The Malad police on Monday claimed to have solved the robbery of Rs 75 lakh cash that took place in Malad last week. Seven accused have been apprehended from different districts of Maharashtra and Mumbai.

According to police sources, the main perpetrator of the crime was an employee of the foreign exchange trading business. He had the responsibility of transporting the company's money in an auto. This employee conspired with others to commit the robbery. The police have recovered Rs 15 lakh from the arrested individuals. The remaining amount is believed to be with other accused who are still at large. The arrested accused have been identified as Akshay Shiva Gaikwad, Kunal Gaikwad, Naresh Rathod, Chhagan Gaikwad, Dinesh Indre, Pratik Bhojne, and Vinod Achalkhamb.

Pratik Bhojne, the staffer

Bhojne, who worked at the company, his friend Indre, and another absconding accused were the masterminds in the crime. On Tuesday, August 29, Bhojne and another employee who was not involved in the crime, Ganesh Talwatkar, were tasked with transporting the cash. Five accused on two motorcycles followed their auto. Three of them on a Honda bike stopped the auto, and Kunal, brandished a knife, snatched the bags of cash from Bhojne and Talwatkar, and escaped with his associates.

"The robbery occurred around 8.30 pm, but it was reported to the police five hours later, around 1 am. The delay raised suspicions. We checked nearby CCTV footage, but it wasn't helpful initially. Technical analysis and tower location data were used to trace the suspects' locations. Three accused were captured in Jalna district, and two were arrested in Mumbai after being traced to Kurla and Lonavala. Some of the accused had previous criminal records, while Indre and Rathod have been externed from Chuna Bhatti for two years," said an officer.

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"The accused wanted to get quick money. We have recovered R15 lakh from the arrested individuals. Several others appear to be involved in the crime as another arrest was made in Nashik on Monday," said DCP Ajaykumar Bansal, Zone XI. "The accused used bikes without number plates. It was a well-planned robbery so we are including Indian Penal Code Section 120(B) (criminal conspiracy) in the FIR. For four days, a team of 80 police personnel, including the detection officers of Zone XI, ACP (Goregaon division) Renuka Bagdi and Malad senior inspector Ravi Adhane worked on detecting the crime," Bansal added.

8.30 pm
Time robbery happened on Aug 29