Three held for robbery at gunpoint on Thane highway

Three people were held by the police ten days after a robbery at a gunpoint on a high in Thane district of Maharashtra a police official said on Tuesday reported the PTIAccording to the police the robbery had took place around ten days ago A trader was robbed of Rs 13 lakh at gunpoint on a highway in Thane districtDeputy Commissioner of Police ZoneI S S Burse said the bikeborne robbers intercepted the autorickshaw in which the victim was travelling at a deserted spot between Bhiwandi and Vashi on April 12 night as per the PTIThe trio allegedly threatened the trader with a revolver and a knife and snatched the cash before fleeingA special team of police scanned footage from over 100 CCTV cameras along the track taken by the autorickshaw Also it used intelligence inputs to track down the culprits leading them to Faizanali Abdul Sattar Ansari 41 a powerloom worker from Bhiwandi the PTI reportedSubsequently Vivek Waghmode 22 a private sector employee and Mayur Rajendra Patil 22 a plumber were arrested police said adding that two more persons involved in the crime are on the runThe accused persons were booked on charges of robbery dacoity and wrongful restraint under the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita BNS the news agency reportedThe police recovered stolen Rs 525 lakh from the accused and impounded two motorcycles used in the crimeFurther investigation is underwayThane court acquits six booked under MCOCA in 2017 robbery caseMeanwhile acourt in Thane district has acquitted six persons booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act MCOCA in a 2017 robbery case citing insufficient evidence reported news agency PTIThe accused were booked under the MCOCA and the Indian Penal Code for stealing cigarettes worth Rs 91 lakh from a godown in Navi MumbaiA copy of the order dated April 16 was made available on MondayThe court has acquitted Mukesh Mohan Chaudhari Raju Rathod 43 Surendra Aslaramji Chaudhari 30 Champalal Chogaram Verma 35 Ratanlal Nagaram Dangi 38 Suresh Hariram Chaudhari 35 and Tejas Champalal Unecha 43 all residents of Pune district reported PTIAccording to the prosecution the robbery took place on the night of July 29 2017 at a godown and cigarette distribution centre in the APMC Market area of Navi Mumbai A police complaint was lodged and the accused were arrested and charged based on recovered cigarette cartons and fingerprint evidenceA case was registered under sections 457 housebreaking by night 380 theft 120B criminal conspiracy 411 dishonestly receiving stolen property and 34 common intention of the IPC and relevant provisions of the MCOCASpecial MCOCA court judge Amit M Shete noted several critical lapses in the investigationHe noted that the trial was based on circumstantial evidence and the prosecution and witnesses failed to establish each chain of circumstances reported PTIThough the prosecution had invoked the MCOCA citing past criminal cases against the accused the court clarified that since the accused are given the benefit of the doubt for the offence punishable under the IPC they are required to be acquitted for the offence punishable under the MCOCAwith PTI inputsatOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params