Mumbai businessman robbed of gold, ₹18,000 cash on Sion-Panvel Highway

He was offered a ride by strangers while he was waiting to board his bus home to Ghatkopar

Police on Saturday booked four unidentified people who allegedly looted a 55-year-old businessman of his gold jewellery and ₹18,000 in cash. They are still evading arrest.

As the car crossed the Vashi toll naka, the accused flashed a pistol and asked him to keep quiet. (Representative photo)

According to the police, Kamlesh Sangvi, a resident of Ghatkopar runs a shop of ayurvedic medicines near Sanpada railway station. Around 8pm on Wednesday, he was waiting for a bus near the flyover at Vashi to go home.

That was when a private car came from Panvel and its driver asked him about his destination. When Sangvi told the driver that he was going to Ghatkopar, the driver said that he could drop him at home. Sangvi then boarded the car.

“There were three other people inside the car apart from the driver. As the car crossed the Vashi toll naka, the accused flashed a pistol and asked him to keep quiet. They threatened to kill him in case he did not act accordingly,” said Deepak Barkale, an assistant police inspector from Vashi police station.

“After that, the accused took away Sangvi’s gold chain worth Rs50,000, a gold ring worth ₹25,000 and ₹18,000 in cash. In total, they looted him of valuables worth ₹93,000. They also snatched his credit card and took its PIN number from him,” he said.

Sangvi then approached the nearest police station and narrated the entire incident. The police have booked the accused under sections 347, 368, 398 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 3 and 35 of the Indian Arms Act. The case was transferred to Vashi police on Saturday.

Barkale said, “We think the same gang of criminals looted a journalist on Mumbai-Pune Expressway on the same day. The accused might have dropped that victim at Kalamboli and targeted this one while travelling towards Mumbai. Our investigations are on to find them out.”