MUMBAI: Two masked men entered a school trustee’s
Powai flat and at
gunpoint made away with six tolas of gold
jewellery worth Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 13 lakh in
cash on Sunday. The crime took place in a third-floor
flat of Zahoor Palace opposite Larsen & Turbo’s gate number six.
Victim Subhangi Narsale (40) was getting ready to leave for the wedding reception of the school owner’s son at 8.45pm when two men landed up outside her door. The duo asked her 60-year-old mother to open the door claiming they had been sent by the school’s owner. The entire episode lasted 10 minutes and the two men calmly walked out without being noticed by anyone else.
Narsale and her mother live alone in the flat. The accused seemed to be aware of their daily routine and also about Rs 13 lakh kept in the flat, said a Powai
police officer.
“Two men entered the flat, covered their faces with handkerchiefs and at gunpoint stole Rs 13 lakh in cash collected as school fees from March 25. Before leaving, the accused also stole the victim’s gold jewellery worth Rs 1.5 lakh. After the robbery, the masked duo was found leaving the building calmly, which the building’s closed-circuit television (CCTV) has captured. But the CCTV grab is blurred and we have sought technical help to make the images sharper and clearer,” said an officer from Powai police station.
In her police complaint, Narsale said, “I was getting ready to leave when the doorbell rang. My elderly mother opened the door and allowed the two men to enter as they claimed to have been sent by the school. The two then covered their faces with handkerchiefs and locked the door from inside and threatened both of us with a gun. They told us to hand over all the valuables and cash at home.”
The police have found it “strange” that neither their neighbours nor the building security guards noticed the two men enter or leave the premises. “The two men did not harm the victims. Their intention was only to rob and they are known to the victims as well as the school management. They were aware about the fees collection kept in the flat since March 25, which the school owner had asked Narsale to hand over to him during his son’s marriage. The money had not been deposited in a bank,” said a police officer.
A case has been registered under the Arms Act as well as Indian Penal Code sections 34 for common intention, 392 for robbery, 452 for house trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint, and 506 (II) for criminal intimidation against the two unidentified men. DCP Vinayak Deshmukh, additional charge of Zone X, confirmed the crime to TOI but but refused to divulge any details. He said two teams have been formed to track down the accused.
