Lokmat News Network
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
A sensational incident involving the misappropriation of a large consignment of areca nuts en-route from Bengaluru (Karnataka) to Gujarat has come to light. Acting with remarkable speed, the MIDC Paithan Police and the local crime branch (LCB) traced the case to Gujarat and seized the stolen consignment worth ₹73.53 lakh.
Shockingly, the investigation has revealed that the truck owner himself orchestrated the theft by intoxicating the driver with alcohol.
On January 8, South India Transport dispatched a truck (GJ 10 Z 5029) carrying 320 bags of areca nuts (20.8 tonnes) valued at ₹73.53 lakh to Gujarat. The truck owner, Dinesh Solanki (resident of Porbandar), was travelling with the consignment. During the journey, at Manjarsubha in Beed district, Solanki made the driver, Mohammed Sumra, consume alcohol. While the driver was intoxicated, the accused took the truck near a petrol pump at Dhorkin, transferred the entire consignment into another vehicle, and fled with the goods. A case was registered at MIDC Paithan police station on January 11.
During the investigation, the police received information that the stolen consignment had been transported to Gujarat. Acting on this tip-off, the police conducted a raid on January 12 in the Rajpar area of Morbi district, Gujarat, where they seized all 320 stolen bags of areca nuts from a warehouse. On January 14, the truck valued at ₹10 lakh and the areca nuts worth ₹73 lakh were deposited at the police station.
This operation was successfully carried out under the guidance of Superintendent of Police (SP) Dr Vinaykumar Rathod, additional SP Annapurna Singh, and sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Sunil Patil, by local crime branch inspector Vijaysing Rajput, API Eshwar Jagdale, and their team.
Truck owner absconding; search underway
In this case, truck owner Dinesh Solanki had stored the stolen areca nuts in a warehouse in the Rajpar area of Morbi district before going into hiding. The MIDC Paithan Police and the LCB raided the warehouse and seized the stolen property. Upon learning of the police action, the accused fled. Police are currently conducting a search to trace the absconding accused.