Fake 'ED raid' on jeweller: Mumbai Police crack case in 24 hrs, nab 3
Darpan News Desk IANS, 24 Jan, 2023 11:37 AM
Mumbai, Jan 24 (IANS) In a major shocker, a gang of four persons, including a woman, impersonating Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers, "raided" and looted a Mumbai bullion dealer of gold and cash worth over Rs 2 crore, police said on Tuesday.
Moving swiftly into the investigations, the LT Marg Police have arrested three of the accused - Mumbaikars M. Fazal S. Gilitwala, 50, and M. Raji Rafiq, 37, and Vishakha Vishwas Mudhole from Khed town in Ratnagiri.
The police have also recovered a major portion of the loot from them even as the incident on Monday sent shockwaves in the glittering Zaveri Bazar area - the hub of gold jewellery business in south Mumbai.
Recounting the details, Deputy Commissioner of Police, II, Abhinav Deshmukh said that on Monday afternoon, Gilitwala and Rafiq barged into the offices of VBL Bullions in the heart of Zaveri Bazar and assaulted an attendant.
Announcing that "this is an ED raid", they demanded to meet company owner Viratbhai, started "searching" the office and staffers, confiscated their mobiles, and and ordered them to collect all the cash, gold and other valuables.
When worker Dashrath Mali demanded to see their I-cards, they slapped him, and even handcuffed him, and collected the booty worth over Rs 2 crore from the office, plus the mobile phones of the staffers.
They ordered Mali to take them to the other office at Diamond House nearby, where Vishakha Mudhole and her accomplice had already held hostage manager Vijay Shah, and demanded to know the whereabouts of Viratbhai.
Told that Virabhai had gone to his native place, the foursome freed Mali's handcuffs, asked him to leave the premises, grabbed the loot and decamped from there.
The scared Mali informed the shaken company officials and local jewellers on the "raids" but sensing something fishy, the police was informed, said DCP Deshmukh.
The police set up several teams, used tech-intel and scanned CCTV footage of the area and finally zeroed in on the culprits to arrest them.
"We have recovered Rs 15 lakh cash and around 2.70 kg of the stolen gold. We suspect there may be other associates involved in this operation and are on the lookout for them," said Deshmukh.
Meanwhile the accused Gilitwala and Rafiq were produced before the Esplanade Court and have been remanded to seven days' police custody, while the formalities for the accused woman Mudhole are underway.
Local Government Minister Inderbir Singh Nijjar said the G-20 summit is going to be held in the holy city of Amritsar, possibly from March 15 to 17, 2023, and will have participation of the heads of state of G-20 countries and other international delegates
The Minister said this while speaking after flagging-off 30 campaign chariots of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from the office of the saffron party's Delhi unit, in view of the MCD elections. The chariot flagging event was also attended by BJP leaders, office bearers and party workers.
Superintendent of Police, Chitradurga, K. Parashurama said that along with the prime accused seer, the charges against accused number two, women's hostel warden Rashmi and accused number four Paramashivaiah are also valid. However, the police are gathering evidence against accused number two, a minor, and accused number five Gangadharaiah, he added.
He made the announcement while addressing a joint presser here with his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann. Kejriwal also said that outdoor activities for all classes above class 5 will also be suspended.
Interacting with the mediapersons here, the Chief Minister, accompanied by his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal, said the state government is working on a multi-pronged strategy and has already roped in agriculture experts and the farmers unions for working out a viable solution for this problem.
Around 810 km of metro line are operational in 20 cities in the country while more than 980 km of metro network and RRTS is currently under construction in 27 cities, Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Puri said on Friday, adding India currently has the fifth-largest metro network in the world.
