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Three held in Indore within 24 hours of businessman robbery
Pune Crime Branch arrested three alleged members of an interstate robbery gang in Indore within 24 hours of a businessman being shot at and robbed of gold ornaments in Haveli taluka
PUNE: The Pune Crime Branch arrested three alleged members of an interstate robbery gang in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, within 24 hours of a businessman being shot at and robbed of gold ornaments worth ₹11 lakh in Haveli taluka.
The robbery took place around 8.30 pm on Wednesday in front of a bungalow in Gavdewadi, Shirsawadi. According to the police, three men confronted the construction businessman and allegedly opened fire at him before snatching two gold chains worth around ₹11 lakh and fleeing the spot.
The accused have been identified as Avinash Krishnachandra Tripathi, 43, of Bakori in Haveli and originally from Uttar Pradesh; and Surendrapal Ramchandra Pal, 32, and Mohammad Shoaib Wasim Khan, 37, of Barabanki district in Uttar Pradesh.
The businessman sustained injuries in the firing and Lonikand police station filed a case under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Maharashtra Police Act and the Arms Act.
Following the incident, teams from Pune Crime Branch Unit 7 and the Anti-Robbery and Vehicle Theft Squad launched a parallel investigation. Police identified the suspects within four to five hours of the robbery. Teams traced their movements outside Maharashtra and tracked them to Indore, where they were arrested within 24 hours.
A police officer said Tripathi, the alleged prime accused, is wanted in several major robbery cases in India and Nepal. A reward of ₹50,000 had been announced for information leading to his arrest, the officer said.
Wanted in around 20 cases, including murder, attempt to murder and robbery, registered in Uttar Pradesh, Tripathi was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Police’s Special Task Force (STF) in Lucknow in 2018 following an encounter.
Pal is facing 12 to 13 cases related to theft and robbery in Uttar Pradesh, police said, while Khan is facing around five cases in the state, including robbery-related offences.
The three accused have been brought to Pune for investigation
