The Thane Rural Police have arrested five men who robbed a Kashimira family of ₹2.75 lakh in cash and 116 grams of gold within three weeks of the crime.
On August 4, three men identified as Faiyaz Kadar Khan (47), Salim Firoz Ansari (21), and Imran Munna Ali (25) forcefully entered the house of Govind Singh at 10.30 p.m. on the pretext of being Income Tax officials and started searches.
After finding a locker with a numeric keypad in the cupboard, the criminals had Mr. Singh open it and found ₹2.75 lakh in cash and 116 grams of gold. The accused then offered Mr. Singh the option of keeping the gold if he hands over the cash.
When Mr. Singh raised his doubts about their identity, Mr. Khan tied the couple’s hand and feet with a nylon rope, gagged them with bedsheets, and fled with the loot.
“We saw the three leaving the premises on CCTV footage. We apprehended Mr. Khan in Chinchwad, Pune, Salim alias Sahil Firoz Ansari in Burhanpur, Madhya Pradesh, and Mr. Ali at his residence in Mumbra, Thane, on August 26. On interrogation, the accused revealed the names of two others who were involved in the crime,” Shivaji Rathod, Superintendent of Police, Thane Rural, said.
Insider involved
Police said Manav Sushil Singh (19), a nephew of Mr. Singh, had provided all the information to the three accused. The building address, flat number, financial situation, number of family members, and the time of their daily activity were all passed on.
Manav along with Shoaib Mansur Munshi (19) conducted a reconnaissance of his uncles’ house. Manav and Shoaib were arrested in Mira Road. “The accused were remanded in the custody of the Kashimira police and we have recovered all items,” Mr. Rathod said. Hand gloves and mobile phones used in the crime were also recovered.
The five have been booked under Section 392, Section 170, Section 452, Section 342, Section 323, Section 503, Section 34, Section 120 (b), and Section 324 (k) of the Indian Penal Code.