Investigating a ‘robbery’ committed at the corporate office of ITD Cementation India Limited in Bandra recently, the police sensed something fishy.
Two of the security guards had claimed that they were gagged and tied to their seats by the burglars at knifepoint, and that the burglars stole the projector and some other valuables. As it turned out, it were the guards who stole the projector.
Investigating officer sub-inspector Sanjay Patil, said, “The accused planned to open a mini-theatre in their hometown in Kolhapur to screen blue films.” The accused said that they came up with this plan after finding out that there was great demand for blue films in their hometown.
After the initial investigation, the police ruled out involvement of Chandrakanth Jadhav, 40, one of the security guards. Jadhav has been working with the company for 21 years.
The police arrested the other guard, Balu Patil, who has been with the company for eight years. Two of his accomplices, including another guard, were also arrested. The police said Jadhav was not aware of their plan.
“Interrogation revealed that the trio had planned the fake robbery to steal the projector,” said senior inspector Chandrakant Bhosle of the BKC police station.
Officials said the accused even tried to mislead the police during investigations.
They said they committed the robbery at the instance of a very senior manager of the company. But an investigation proved the official innocent.
The police zeroed in on Patil when they found that the marks on him made by the nylon rope used to tie him up were very light, indicating that the rope was not tied with purpose or pressure, something unlikely in case of a genuine robbery.
Also, Patil had tried to mislead the police by saying that the robbers had assaulted him on the hand with a knife. But medical investigation revealed the injury to be an old one. Patil also changed his statements frequently increasing suspicion.
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