The Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel have recovered gold jewellery worth ₹44.87 lakh, weighing 1,465 grams, by arresting four people. The accused have been identified as Tausif Khan (23), Harish Rawal (35), Hussain Subniya (32) and Mohammad Sheikh (32).
The police said Mr. Khan and two accomplices grabbed the bag from jeweller Kundan Vaishnav as he was boarding the Bhavnagar-Kakinada Express around 6 p.m. from Vasai station on September 29.
Purushottam Karad, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Western Railway), said, “CCTV footage showed three individuals following Mr. Vaishnav from his home to the station.” The police arrested Mr. Khan, a resident of Vasai, on October 1 based on a tip-off, and his interrogation led to the arrest of Mr. Rawal, a goldsmith in Virar.
Mr. Karad said, “Mr. Vaishnav bought gold from Mr. Rawal. He came to know that Mr. Vaishnav was heading to Hyderabad with a large consignment of gold and roped in Mr. Subniya to steal the bag.” Mr. Karad said Mr. Subniya planned the robbery with Mr. Sheikh and three accomplices. After the robbery, the accused handed over the bag to Mr. Rawal and he took it to his office in Zaveri Bazaar. Mr. Karad said Mr. Rawal was planning to sell the gold as he was in need of money to pay off his debts.
Swift action
He said, “Usually in cases of gold robbery, the accused melt the gold or sell it immediately. This makes recovering the stolen jewellery difficult. Our swift action helped us recover all the jewellery.”
Mr. Karad said efforts are on to arrest the three absconding accused.