The Matunga police arrested seven people who attempted to steal silver worth Rs. 1.5 lakhs within 24 hours. The seven alleged accused had attempted such a theft for the first time, but a group of four officers apprehended them. "They had been planning to rob valuables for 2-3 months and had reconnoitered the place," the officer said.
The incident came to light on June 27 when Vijay Nimbalkar (36), a professional angadia worker, arrived at Dadar TT with a bag containing silver. A group of individuals on a bike allegedly attacked him with a knife. "They attacked him with an axe on his shoulder in an attempt to steal the bag, but our officers reached the spot and caught them red-handed. Based on their information, we arrested four more people. It was their first attempt at theft," said Matunga Senior PI Deepak Chavan.
According to the police, one of the alleged accused, Sunil Gadekar (24), previously worked as an angadia worker and devised the plan to commit the crime.
The police seized two bikes, an axe, and a coconut knife from the group. Under the leadership of the Senior PI, PSI Vinod Patil, Constable Naturam Chavan, Police Constable Anil Hande, and Police Constable Anant Tambe, the police arrested Sunil Gadekar (24), Sahil Shende (20), Ranjeet Kudalkar (33), and Sahil Khadsare (24) when the group attempted to flee to Pune. The police apprehended them near Khalapur on June 28.
Earlier, the police had caught Gaurav Dhamal (23), Omkar Gholap (23), and Tejas Jadhav (24) red-handed near Dadar TT.
"One of the accused was on the same bus as the complainant and was constantly updating the group about their locations. All the accused reside in Shirwal, Pune," said an officer.
Seven people have been booked under Section 397 (dacoity), 120 (criminal conspiracy), 34 (common intention), and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.