Cops could have solved bank robbery seven months ago

The RAK Marg police could have solved the Rs 29-lakh robbery at the Apna Sahakari Bank in Bhoiwada seven months ago, reports Rachna Pratihar.

The RAK Marg police could have solved the Rs 29-lakh robbery at the Apna Sahakari Bank in Bhoiwada seven months ago.

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On March 10, the police solved the case after arresting two of the accused in the robbery — Mangesh Bhurawane (38) and Rajesh Gurav (35). Four of their accomplices are still at large.

On May 22 last year, two unidentified people had robbed Rs 28.75 lakh from the bank.

The accused had barged into the strong room of the Apna Sahakari Bank in Bhoiwada around 7.45 am when the bank’s cashier, Arun Laval, was transferring the cash from the strong room located in the basement to the bank on the first floor.

They snatched the cash-laden bag that the security guard was holding and fled in a Maruti parked on the building premises.

Three months after the robbery, five of the accused robbed Rs 60,000 from Samrat jewellers in Sewri.

On August 22, the RAK Marg police arrested the five for robbing the jewellery shop. They, however, were released on bail and the police could not investigate their role in the bank robbery.

When contacted, Popat Tiwatne, the senior inspector of the RAK Marg police station said he was not aware of the involvement of the accused in the bank robbery.

“The accused never revealed their involvement in the previous bank robbery. Had we learnt this, it would have been a feather in our cap,” observed Tiwatne.

Despite repeated attempts, Sanjay Baviskar, the deputy commissioner of police (Zone IV) could not be reached for his comment.

Investigations revealed that the accused had planned the bank robbery several days in advance.

Having observed lax security and the large number of account holders that the Apna Sahakari Bank had, the robbers had decided to target it.

“Bhurawane (the arrested accused), a Parel resident, used to exercise in the park located in front of the bank. He also had an account in the bank and closely observed how the cash was transferred from the vault to the bank every day,” said a police officer, requesting anonymity.

The police are now verifying the past record of the accused and are trying to recover the property. Teams have been sent to Tamil Nadu and Karnataka in search of the wanted accused.