22 April,2025 04:12 PM IST | Thane | mid-day online correspondent
The trio had also allegedly threatened the trader with a revolver and a knife and snatched the cash before fleeing, an official said. Representational Pic/File
Three people were held by the police ten days after a robbery at a gunpoint on a high in Thane district of Maharashtra, a police official said on Tuesday, reported the PTI.
According to the police, the robbery had took place around ten days ago. A trader was robbed of Rs 13 lakh at gunpoint on a highway in Thane district.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone-I) S S Burse said the bike-borne robbers intercepted the autorickshaw in which the victim was travelling at a deserted spot between Bhiwandi and Vashi on April 12 night, as per the PTI.
The trio allegedly threatened the trader with a revolver and a knife and snatched the cash before fleeing.
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A special team of police scanned footage from over 100 CCTV cameras along the track taken by the autorickshaw. Also, it used intelligence inputs to track down the culprits, leading them to Faizanali Abdul Sattar Ansari (41), a powerloom worker from Bhiwandi, the PTI reported.
Subsequently, Vivek Waghmode (22), a private sector employee, and Mayur Rajendra Patil (22), a plumber, were arrested, police said, adding that two more persons involved in the crime are on the run.
The accused persons were booked on charges of robbery, dacoity, and wrongful restraint under the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), the news agency reported.
The police recovered stolen Rs 5.25 lakh from the accused and impounded two motorcycles used in the crime.
Further investigation is underway.
Thane court acquits six booked under MCOCA in 2017 robbery case
Meanwhile, a court in Thane district has acquitted six persons booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in a 2017 robbery case, citing insufficient evidence, reported news agency PTI.
The accused were booked under the MCOCA and the Indian Penal Code for stealing cigarettes worth Rs 91 lakh from a godown in Navi Mumbai.
A copy of the order dated April 16 was made available on Monday.
The court has acquitted Mukesh Mohan Chaudhari @ Raju Rathod (43), Surendra Aslaramji Chaudhari (30), Champalal Chogaram Verma (35), Ratanlal Nagaram Dangi (38), Suresh Hariram Chaudhari (35), and Tejas Champalal Unecha (43), all residents of Pune district, reported PTI.
According to the prosecution, the robbery took place on the night of July 29, 2017, at a godown and cigarette distribution centre in the APMC Market area of Navi Mumbai. A police complaint was lodged, and the accused were arrested and charged based on recovered cigarette cartons and fingerprint evidence.
A case was registered under sections 457 (house-breaking by night), 380 (theft), 120(B) (criminal conspiracy), 411 (dishonestly receiving stolen property), and 34 (common intention) of the IPC, and relevant provisions of the MCOCA.
Special MCOCA court judge Amit M Shete noted several critical lapses in the investigation.
He noted that the trial was based on circumstantial evidence, and the prosecution and witnesses failed to establish each chain of circumstances, reported PTI.
Though the prosecution had invoked the MCOCA citing past criminal cases against the accused, the court clarified that since the accused are given the benefit of the doubt for the offence punishable under the IPC, they are required to be acquitted for the offence punishable under the MCOCA.
(with PTI inputs)
