Mumbai: Man arrested for bid to rob former employer

While Devda and one of his accomplices were arrested on Tuesday, another accomplice, who reportedly gave him a countrymade pistol, was arrested the next day. (Representational Image)

A 40-YEAR-OLD man has been arrested for attempting to rob a Prabhadevi-based jeweller, his former employer.

The accused, identified as Mangal Singh Gulab Singh Devda, was allegedly sacked two years ago by the jeweller. While he and one of his accomplices were arrested on Tuesday, another accomplice, who reportedly gave him a countrymade pistol, was arrested the next day. The police said Devda worked at the jewellery shop for 17 years. In late 2017, he was allegedly sacked without being given a valid reason.

Recently, Devda asked his friend Ekruddin Silawat (65) to come to Mumbai along with his wife Pappu Begam (48). “Silawat had been ill. So, Devda called the couple from Rajasthan on the pretext of getting Silawat free treatment,” senior Inspector Diwakar Shelke of Dadar police said.

Three days before the incident, Devda sent Pappu Begam to the complainant’s shop and asked her to book jewellery worth Rs 5 lakh by paying an advance of Rs 5,000. At the shop, she said she would return with her friend in a few days for the valuables.

At 4.30 pm on Tuesday, Begam and Devda went to the shop wearing burqas and asked for the jewellery. “After the jewellery was presented to them, the two deliberately got into an argument with an employee… Devda then took out a countrymade pistol and threatened to harm an employee,” said an officer. While the two managed to flee with the jewellery, they were caught after a store employee raised an alarm. “The two were brought to the police station… a robbery case was registered and they were arrested,” the officer said.

As Devda alleged that Silawat had given him the weapon, he was arrested on Wednesday.