Two more arrested in Nima House case, 3 still absconding

Working on a tip-off, officials of Ahmedabad LCB on Sunday arrested two people from Sarkhej area for their involvement in failed Nima House heist in January. Nima House belongs to Nirma honcho Karsanbhai Patel.

The arrested were identified as Haroon Shaikh, 40, and Nizam Chauhan alias Anna, 25. Shaikh is a resident of Gendigate, Vadi area of Vadodara while Chauhan hails from Rampura village of Kadi taluka. The duo is currently in one-day custody of LCB. Police, after these arrests, have nine of the 12 accused in this case in their custody.

Six of these were arrested on March 1 in a joint operation of DCB, LCB and Gandhinagar police. The seventh accused and one of the kingpins Shiva Mundaliar was already lodged in Palara Jail of Kutch district. Three accused are still on the run. "With these two (Shaikh and Chauhan), the number of arrested in this matter has gone up to nine. Hunt is on for the remaining three," said Rajiv R Bhagat, DSP of Ahmedabad district. 

The duo played a vital role in the planning of this heist. While Shaikh identified the exact location of the house, Chauhan conducted a recce of the area thrice before the attack. Shaikh is close aide of kingpin Mustafa Shoaib.