Jewellery worth Rs45 lakh found on watchman

During a routine search on Monday for weapons and explosives, government railway police (GRP) personnel at Mumbai Central station found a Nepali with gold and silver ornaments collectively worth Rs45 lakh.

“The accused, identified as Chhatra Bahadur Bhavani Singh Rawat, 43, was booked for robbery. Rawat had been working as a security guard at the Gilbert Hill Housing Society, Andheri (West), for the past three-and-a-half years,” said DCP (Western Railway zone) Ankush Shinde. He added that Rawat had been on his way to Nepal via Delhi, with the stolen ornaments.

During interrogation, Rawat revealed that he, along with three of his Nepali associates, had barged into a bungalow named Gauri Wada, belonging to Kamalakar Taware, 60, a builder. This happened at Bhiwadi on the night of November 5, 2011. The four assaulted a servant, Niwas Ponna, 60, who was alone in the bungalow, with iron rods; they tied his hands and legs with rope before confining him to the bathroom. The men then combed the two storied bungalow for three hours and fled with cash, gold and silver ornaments worth Rs97 lakh.

The servant screamed for help after they left and neighbours rushed to the bungalow. The injured servant was rushed to a hospital for treatment. “The Bhoiwada police in Bhiwandi registered a case of robbery,” said senior inspector Shivaji Shinde of the Mumbai Central railway police station.

Taware, bungalow owner (and elder brother of Suresh Taware, Congress MP from Bhiwandi) said, “I have identified the gold and silver ornaments recovered by the police.”