In the sensational daylight heist at Mumbai domestic airport in May last year, three gunmen looted gold and silver bars worth Rs47 lakh from the cargo terminal, and shot dead a security guard while fleeing.
The officers of the Mumbai Crime Branch claim to have solved the sensational daylight heist at Mumbai domestic airport in May last year in which three gunmen looted gold and silver bars worth Rs47 lakh from the cargo terminal, and shot dead a security guard while fleeing. Three persons were arrested in connection with the case on Wednesday.
All three — Suresh Kamble, 27, Rajendra Yelanna, 23, and Vijendra Kamble, 26 — are residents of Sahar in Andheri (East).
Though then home minister Jayant Patil had ordered a CID probe, nothing had come of it as neither the masked robbers, nor the getaway car could be identified. It was a scrap dealer’s murder in Sahar in August this year that led to the chance unravelling of the crime.
“On August 18, Bhursingh Solanki was found murdered in his shop. He wad attacked at 2am, and since there were no signs of forcible entry, it was clear the assailants were known to the victim,” said joint commissioner of police (crime) Himanshu Roy.
The police learnt that Solanki used to buy goods stolen from baggage of airport passengers. “Over 100 people were questioned, until we came across Suresh Kamble. On interrogation, Kamble revealed that he works for a charter service provider and his job is to deliver misplaced or left-behind baggage to the owners,” Roy said.
The police said that Kamble used to steal goods from the baggage and sell them to Solanki. He knew that Solanki kept a lot of money in his shop and decided to bump him off. Kamble, Yelanna, along with an unidentified associate, arrived at the shop on a bike at night, and fled with the money after killing Solanki, the police said.
“Yelanna was also taken into custody and during interrogation we learnt that they were leading a lavish lifestyle since the past year. On searching Kamble’s house, we found four trunks which were similar to those stolen from the airport last year,” said additional commissioner Deven Bharti.
“On sustained questioning, Kamble admitted that he was also involved in the airport robbery. He said that on the day of the heist, he, along with Vijendra and an unidentified person, entered the airport in an Indica car to commit the crime,” said Roy. The stolen gold and silver was melted into bricks before being sold.
The police have recovered two country-made revolvers, four live rounds, four trunks, a few gold and silver coins, 707 blank boxes of coins, and a metal melting machine, along with the bike and the Indica car.
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