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Dahisar robbery, murder: Mumbai Police arrest five, mastermind still at large
Dahisar police have arrested five men from Gujarat, allegedly involved in killing a 40-year-old jeweller in broad daylight on Wednesday and fleeing with gold worth ₹10 lakh
Dahisar police have arrested five men from Gujarat, allegedly involved in killing a 40-year-old jeweller in broad daylight on Wednesday and fleeing with gold worth ₹10 lakh.
The alleged mastermind of the robbery heist, a local resident, is absconding.
As per their plan, the robbers came to the city and stole a bike. Two accused stayed on the lookout, while three others on the bike entered Om Sairaj jewellery shop and threatened the owner, Shailendra Pandey, who was alone at the time. The men then shot him point blank and fled the spot after filling gold worth ₹10 lakh in two duffle bags, the police said.
Vishwas Nangre Patil, joint commissioner of police (law and order), said that after the case was registered, they had prepared 10 teams. Police officers had a CCTV recording of the three accused who were on the bike, based on which they began investigation.
“We had nakabandis on all the exit points of the city. Through our sources, we found the bike used in the heist abandoned near a hotel on Ghodbunder Road in Thane,” said an officer from Dahisar police station.
The accused had parked a car nearby and after abandoning the bike they fled towards Gujarat in the four-wheeler, said the officer.
Based on their investigation, the police found that the five men were hiding in a house at a village near Surat and arrested them. The accused have been identified as Aayush Pandey, 19, Nikhil Chandal, Uday Bali, Chirag Rawal and Ankit Mahadik, all aged 21.
The mastermind had hired the robbers for ₹30,000 and armed them with the country-made revolver used in the murder, the police said.
“The motive was robbery as the mastermind had tipped that Pandey is the only one at the shop,” said Nangre Patil.
The robbers shot Pandey as soon as they entered the shop and fled as the mastermind had alerted them about a button in the shop which closes the main shutter, and could have locked them inside.
The police have recovered the gold from the accused.
