Nagpur: In a major breakthrough in the sensational Rs 20 lakh robbery that took place in Nagpur’s busy Itwari area on Saturday, police have nabbed one of the three looters. Cops have mounted a hunt to round up the other two robbers.
Three goons had looted Rs 20 lakh from two employees of a courier company near Chinteshwar Mandir in Itwari area on Saturday afternoon. Soon after receiving information of the loot, cops swung into action and nabbed one of the robbers from Naik Talav area within hours of the crime. DCP (Zone III) Lohit Matani said that Vyankatesh alias Golu Pohad (22), a resident of Tandapeth, Naik Talav, was arrested late in the night. Two accomplices including prime accused Vivek Barapatre are still at large. Police teams are searching for him and he will be nabbed soon, DCP Matani said.
According to police, the three accused had planned the robbery after receiving a specific tip-off about the huge cash being transported to the house of Rohit Patel in Chhapru Nagar everyday. The accused did recce of the route by following the courier company employees and decided Saturday to carry out their robbery plan.
During interrogation, the arrested accused Pohad named Barapatre as the prime accused in the case who hatched the conspiracy and roped him and one other in the crime. All three accused have criminal cases registered against them.
It may be mentioned that Kamlesh Shah Courier Company’s office is situated at Bhutada Chamber in Itwari Grain Market. On the instructions of Manager Rohit Patel, the employee Raman Patel had kept Rs 20 lakh in a bag. Later, Raman and one other kept the bag in the utility box of a moped (MH-49/AV-2357) and were on the way to the Patel’s house in Chhapru Nagar at 3.45 pm. When the two were passing through Chinteshwar Temple near Quetta Colony, three bike-borne robbers came from another side and blocked their way. The accused whipped out sharp-edged weapons and threatened the employees of their life. The employees had immediately surrendered before the armed goons. The robbers had then fled with the moped containing the huge cash.
