Three from Mumbai held in ₹98-lakh theft case

The police have recovered Rs65 lakh from the accused.

The Pydhonie police on Saturday arrested three people in a theft case that was registered on Friday. They had snatched a bag containing Rs98 lakh from a 65-year-old. The police have recovered Rs65 lakh from the accused, who were produced in court.

hey had snatched a bag containing the money from a 65-year-old. (Representational photo)

The senior citizen, Rajeshwarao Shankar Shastri, was a trusted employee of a businessman, Nadeer Khan, the owner of MM Khan shop in Pydhonie. The incident took place when Shastri was carrying the money to Khan’s residence, as instructed by Khan.

The accused — identified as Mohammed Irfan Mansuri, 35; Rafiq Shaikh, 38; and Mohammed Hasan Mansuri, 42 — reside under the jurisdiction of the JJ Marg police station. They work at a cloth shop in Pydhonie.

Irfan was the mastermind of the plan. The accused claimed that they had not anticipated that the bag would contain such a huge amount, said an official.

“Shastri, too, claimed that he was unaware that the bag contained cash. When he returned to the shop and told Khan about the robbery, he was shocked to learn that it contained Rs98 lakh,” said a senior official from the Pydhonie police station.