Thane cops crack Rs 9.16-crore heist, nab six

Thane (Maharashtra), July 1 IANS) Moving swiftly, the Thane police cracked the Rs 9.16-crore armed dacoity of a cash van on June 28 by nabbing six persons and recovering Rs 3.12 crore from them, a top official said here on Friday.

Making the announcement at a joint press conference, Director-General of Police Praveen Dixit and Thane Police Commissioner Parambir Singh said it was 'an insider job' by an employee and a former staffer who were involved in a two-month long planning and final execution of the heist here on Tuesday.

Among the six persons nabbed are four who were part of the actual dacoity operation that day at the Thane office of the Vadodara-based cash management company, Checkmate Services Pvt Ltd.

'Thane Commissioner of Police Parambir Singh and the police have done a good job by solving the case within two days,' Dixit said, lauding his officers and investigators.

Giving details, Singh said that one suspect had been detained two days ago and after using 'human and technical intelligence', the police zeroed in on the culprits.

Among them are an employee, Amol Kale, and a former employee, Akash Chauhan alias Chindya, who had left the company last February.

While quitting, Chauhan had recommended Kale as his replacement for the job which was accepted.

'The entire conspiracy was planned to the last detail by Umesh Wagh, the kingpin, along with Chauhan over the past two months,' Singh said.

All the major players are from Nashik and even a vehicle used by them is from Nashik. The police has recovered it, he added.

'After committing the crime, they met at a place outside Thane and distributed the booty with their other accomplices. Then they left for their respective hometowns or native places. Our teams are trying to track them down and we shall nab them soon,' Singh said.

Soon after the dacoity, the company officials and owners met and admitted severe lapses on their part with assurance to rectify these.

'The police was not aware of such a huge cash movement by a company here, or we would have taken preventive measures. The security systems are very lax, virtually nil, at the company offices. We have also approached other cash management companies and banks, and asked them to inform us of any such large volume cash movements so that we can provide security,' Singh told media persons.

The state was shocked when at least 7-8 dacoits wielding guns, revolvers and knives stormed into the Checkmate offices near Teen Haat Naka and escaped with the Rs 9.16 crore cash meant for refilling banks ATMs, early last Tuesday.

The company headquartered in Vadodara, Gujarat, also has branches in 24 Indian states offering cash management services to banks, corporate, financial institutions, etc.

--IANS

qn/rn/vt