The police have arrested a supervisor Dutta Laxman Ghorpade, Akhtar Gaffar Shaikh, Adil Faheem Kazi (all from Pimpri Raja) and Azhar Kamroddin Kazi (Ranjani in Ghansawangi tehsil). The cops seized the stolen materials and the vehicle (MH 04 GR 7883) was utilised to transport the seeds. The total value of seized material including seeds is Rs 15.84 lakh.
It so happened that 119 seeds bags of 20 kg each and 148 bags of 40 kg each were found missing from the godown. Acting upon the information, the police surveyed the CCTV cameras and found that on October 12 night one white colour transport vehicle is seen coming out of the company.
During the investigation, the police learnt that Dutta Ghorpade works as a supervisor in the company. He revealed to the police that Akhtar is his village's friend and with his help, he managed to get the vehicle of Azhar and Adil. The company staff and porters loaded the packets in the vehicle. Ghorpade prepared the Gate Pass, and other documents so that the vehicle could get through the security checkup without any hassles.
Under the guidance of the superintendent of police (SP) Manish Kalwaniya, the sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Vishal Nehul, assistant police inspector (API) Santosh Mane, PSI Mahesh Ghuge and others cracked the case. Further investigation is on by rural police.