Two more arrested in Tardeo robbery and murder case, gold worth ₹1.5cr recovered

Two more robbers have been arrested in Mumbai for the murder of a 70-year-old woman during a house robbery. Gold ornaments worth around ₹1.50 crore ($210,000) were recovered from their possession. One accomplice is still at large.

MUMBAI: Two more robbers who allegedly killed a 70-year-old woman during a house robbery in Tardeo on August 13 were arrested on Thursday. The officials have recovered gold ornaments worth around ₹1.50 crore from their possession.

HT Image

The arrested accused are identified as Surendra Singh and Rajaram Meghwal, who were held from their native place in Rajasthan while their accomplice is still at large, according to officials from Tardeo police station.

Earlier, the police apprehended Sumit Tatwal, 27, a distant relative of the victim - Surekha Agarwal. Tatwal was working at her husband’s imitation jewellery shop in Kalbadevi in south Mumbai since March this year. Tatwal had allegedly passed on the details of the family to Surendra Singh who then formed the gang of robbers and came to Mumbai twice for conducting recce of their house and met Tatwal in Mumbai, said a police officer.

The officer said that they have recovered stolen gold jewellery, some of which is studded with diamonds, worth around ₹1.50 crore, of the total stolen booty valued around ₹2.69 crore, including a case of ₹7 lakh. During interrogation, the arrested accused confessed that around half of stolen booty was kept with the absconding accused, said official.

Police said all three robbers, including Singh and Meghwal are native of Jhalrapatan district in Rajasthan. Tatwal knew Surendra for several years, as he had relations in Singh’s village, and both had worked together in Delhi two years ago.

Police officials said after coming to Mumbai Tatwal learnt that the victim had huge gold and cash at home and informed Singh about it three to four months ago and started making a robbery plan. Tatwal had told Singh that he would take 50% of the stolen booty and Singh and his associates would be getting the remaining 50%. They agreed to the arrangement and Singh came to Mumbai twice and conducted recce, said deputy commissioner of police Akbar Pathan.

Singh then brought two other persons - Meghwal and the absconding accused for committing the robbery. They reached Mumbai on August 9 and spent two days staying outside the city while they booked a hotel in Dhobi Talao on August 11. The next day they entered the building and while climbing the stairs they saw Surekha’s husband Madan Agarwal, 75, around 6:30pm in the stairs.

The accused then returned to the hotel and informed the hotel manager that they had missed the train for their native place so would stay for one more day. Next day on August 13, the trio reached Yoosuf Manzil building in Tardeo early and removed the electric bulb of the third-floor staircase to make sure that none noticed them, said Pathan. At around 6:30am when Agarwal opened the door to get out for his routine morning walk, the three - two wearing masks and the third sporting a cap, pushed him inside his house and locked the door from inside. They tied up Agarwal’s hands and legs with adhesive tape and also gagged him and when he tried to resist, the accused hit him and made him unconscious, the DCP added.

The robbers then went to the bedroom where his wife was sleeping and also tied her hands and legs and also taped her mouth. The trio spent around 50 minutes in the house and searched the entire cupboards in the three bedrooms and collected all the valuables and cash and decamped with it, Pathan added.

After committing the crime, the trio got out of the building and took a taxi up to Metro cinema in South Mumbai. They then took another taxi to reach Dadar, from where they boarded a state transport bus for Pune. They then again took a bus and went to Ratlam and from there they went to their native place, said Pathan.

Around 20 police teams were working in the case, based on the technical evidence and CCTV footage police reached Pune and then coordinating with concerned officials in other districts and state, a police team reached Rajasthan at the native place of the accused on August 15. Before that Tatwal was already picked up from his residence in Malad and was questioned and had confessed to the crime.

Singh was picked from his native place and during the search 1,818 grams of gold jewellery studded with diamonds was recovered from his vehicle. Meghwal was also arrested. The police took transit remand of the accused on August 16, and on Thursday brought them to the city. They were produced before the court and remanded to police custody till August 30, said Pathan.

A police team is in Rajasthan and searching for their absconding accomplice.