LUCKNOW: Twenty days after the daring heist at a Mumbai jewellery store, three robbers were arrested in Lucknow outskirts on Wednesday in a joint operation by UP Special Task Force and Mumbai crime branch. The booty, including cash, precious gems, gold jewellery and a 4gm diamond were seized.
The gang split after robbing the Mira Road jeweller on January 7 and reached their homes in Uttar Pradesh through varied routes and later assembled to distribute the booty, when they were nabbed from near Dewa Road, Chinhat.
Those arrested include Vinay Kumar, Dinesh Nishad and Shailendra Kumar of Jaunpur, while Sanjeet of Azamgarh and Sonu Singh of Ghazipur district are on the run, said police.
Forty-six gold rings, four necklaces, 10 lockets, 2 pairs of bracelets, 21gm of precious gems, 14gm jewellery, 4gm diamond, Rs 5.27 lakh in cash, 2 weapons, including a police revolver, 38 live cartridges and 2 mobile phones were seized from them. The gang had taken employees and security guards at gun point during the heist, said police.
Mumbai police sought assistance from UP STF, after which a team was constituted to nab the criminals. The joint police raid was conducted after cyber sleuths zeroed in on their location in Lucknow, said ADG, STF, Amitabh Yash.
Gang leader Vinay Kumar had sold some jewels and reached Lucknow to hide looted ornaments before distributing the booty. “The revolver was looted from police by a gunrunner and sold to the gang,” said, additional SP, STF, Vishal Vikram Singh, who led the operation.
During interrogation, kingpin Vinay said, he took to crime to avenge the murder of his father, Chandrahas Singh in 1991. He tried to snuff out his dad’s killer, Udayiram, in 1991 and later murdered his aide, Prem Prajapati in 1993. “In 1994, he killed Udayiram and then looted money and killed a Ghazipur banker in 2001. “In the same year, he and his aide, Manoj Dubey, raided the office of an insurance company, but Dubey was later shot in a police encounter. He also confessed to planning big hits at business establishments, including a Prayagraj jeweller’s shop, Fun Republic Mall and a casino in Goa,” said the officer.
On the modus operandi, Vinay said, he and his aides would do a recce of high-value targets and befriend security guards to know about escape routes and easy access.