Fourth accused in Kalbadevi robbery held

The Crime Branch Unit-2 on Wednesday arrested the fourth accused involved in a robbery on February 22. The crime branch had earlier arrested three other accused from their hometown in Raigad and handed them over to the LT Marg police, in whose jurisdiction the incident occurred.

The accused had robbed a jeweller's employee of 850 gm of gold worth Rs25 lakh. According to the police, the men were tipped off by one of the employees about the complainant carrying the gold. Dressed in cricket jerseys, they threatened him with a bat near Kalbadevi and took him to a secluded corner. They snatched the bag he was carrying which contained the gold. The men then went to a gymkhana located on Marine Drive, changed their clothes and left for Raigad.

A police complaint was lodged. The crime branch started a parallel inquiry into the case. They suspected an insider's involvement. When questioned, an employee gave in and told the police that he had tipped off the robbers. He also told the police about their hideout.

"The four accused have been identified as Rajesh Bhuval, 20, Rajaram alias Raja Chauhan, 24, Swapnil Chauhan, 24 and Ratnakant Padyal, 22. Padyal was nabbed on Wednesday. The four accused are in police custody," said Sanjivrao Mandlik, senior inspector of LT Marg police station.

"On Wednesday, we arrested the fourth accused from Thane (rural) district," said a crime branch officer.