Police recover stolen jewellery worth ₹1.43 crore in daylight robbery

Mumbai police recover stolen jewellery worth ₹1.43 crore following a ten-day pursuit and strategic measures, including spreading false rumors.

Mumbai: The Vakola police have recovered jewellery valued at ₹1.43 crore, which was stolen during a brazen daylight robbery at a jeweller’s residence. Following a ten-day pursuit and strategic measures, including spreading false rumors, the police arrested the culprits and retrieved the entire loot.

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The robbery occurred on January 19 at the Santacruz East residence of Naresh Solanki around 10:30am. The perpetrators, led by the main accused Balusingh Parmar, 22, who had previously worked for the victim, assaulted Solanki and his wife before fleeing with a bag of jewellery at gunpoint. Other accomplices involved were Mahipal Singh, 21, Lerulal Bheel, 21, Mangilal Bheel, 28, and Kailash Bheel, 19, all hailing from the same village in Rajasthan’s Rajsamand district.

According to a Vakola police official, “they gained access into the complainant’s seventh-floor flat in a high-rise, the main accused was familiar to both them and the building’s security guard. Along with two accomplices, they entered while knowing the fact that Solanki would be bathing. Displaying a gun, they instructed the complainant’s wife to gather all the jewellery in the residence.” He added that Parmar knew that Solanki kept much of the made-to-order and mortgaged jewellery in a safe in the house.

Following the complaint, a team led by deputy commissioner of police Dikshit Gedam, assistant commissioner of police George Fernandes, and senior inspector Prakash Khandekar, along with detection officer sub-inspector Sunil Kengar, sub-inspector Ritesh Mali, assistant inspector Mahesh Kadam, sub-inspector Funde, commenced a search based on Parmar’s last known address. While two suspects were arrested in Palghar and one in Valsad, Gujarat, Leluram, who had the entire loot with him ran away to his native village.

“We spent the next ten days driving through Gujarat and Rajasthan to find him. We didn’t have extra clothes, especially warm ones for the cold winter in North India,” explained another officer. Besides the climate, the terrain of the place also posed a big problem to the team.

As the locals were not helpful at first, the police team in Rajasthan floated a rumour that Leluram was running away from them after committing a murder. “It was after that the local police and informer network became much more serious about the case and helped us locate the accused,” said the officer. The accused was caught on Friday night and produced in the court on Saturday. All accused are in police custody till February 2.