Bihar: 3 arrested for posing as customs officers and looting 22kg gold of Gujarat-based jeweller

Two employees of Sunil Bhai, a jewellery store owner and proprietor of V & Sons in Rajkot, were accosted by criminals posing as customs officer near the Danapur Railway Station and the criminals took away their bag full of gold items in the name of investigation on April 4

A joint team of STF and Patna police on Friday arrested three criminals who posed as customs officers and looted 22kg of gold, worth several crores of rupees, from two employees of a Gujarat-based jeweller near Danapur railway station on April 4. The incident occurred under Khagaul police station limits when the employees were travelling in an auto-rickshaw towards Bakerganj while policemen of the town were busy playing a cricket match in Danapur cantonment.

The Danapur Railway Station (HT Photo)

Police recovered 5.79kg of gold ornaments and bars, besides ₹1.97 lakh cash from their possession. The arrested criminals were identified as -- Santosh Bhagat alias Amarnath Gopi (Mehandiganj), Aditya Giri alias Soni and Sanjay Kumar alias Guddu ( both from Alamganj).

Police said that Mahesh Mamtora and Prince Ramparia, residents of Rajkot, arrived in Danapur from Ahmedabad by the Saharsa Express. They were carrying gold jewellery belonging to their employer, Sunil Bhai, a jewellery store owner and proprietor of V & Sons in Rajkot.

When their auto reached the Khagaul overbridge, five to seven people travelling in a Baleno Car with a police sticker and two motorcycles intercepted them and looted their gold. All of them were wearing white shirts and khaki trousers. Posing as customs officers, they seized all three bags belonging to the traders in the name of investigation and took them away to Naubatpur. Both the traders somehow got help from passersby, reached Khagaul police station and reported the incident.

Investigations revealed that the car used in the gold robbery was stolen from Delhi, and a fake registration number belonging to a Purnia man was affixed to it. However, one scooty belonging to looters was found abandoned near the AIIMS roundabout. Later, police also recovered the bags carrying gold which were thrown on the AIIMS-Naubatpur road because the bags were fitted with GPS devices. It is suspected that the criminals had prior knowledge of the GPS devices, so they threw the bags to prevent tracking their location.

According to police, the criminals fled towards Naubatpur and caught a train to leave the city. The mastermind of the conspiracy is said to be one identified as Amarnath, who planned the entire robbery. Guddu arranged the vehicle and provided it to the culprits, said police. During interrogation, it was revealed that he had planned to become a customs officer by watching YouTube videos.

Patna SSP Kartikey K Sharma confirmed the incident and told the media persons that the criminals had been conducting reconnaissance on the businessman for the last year and a half. The SSP added that for the last year and a half, the criminals were unable to get accurate information about the businessman’s arrival. The miscreants had documented everything in a diary from arrival to departure. Eight to nine criminals were involved in the incident and raids were being conducted across states for their arrest, he said.