Muthoot robbery case: Mastermind held from Gujarat

Nearly ten days after a gang of robbers attempted a daring heist at the office of a gold firm in Nashik and shot dead an employee, police have arrested the main accused from Surat, a top police officer said Monday.

The robbery was planned in February this year and one of the accused had conducted reccee of the office.

While Jitendra Bahadur Singh was arrested Sunday, a hunt is on for five of his accomplices, said Nashik Police Commissioner Vishwas Nangare Patil.

A gang of masked robbers, wielding pistols and an axe, had stormed into the office of Muthoot Finance located near City Centre Mall in Untwadi locality on June 14.

However, the robbers failed to loot valuables as one of the employees, Sajju Samuel (32), a computer engineer, switched on the siren. The panicked robbers fired five rounds in which Samuel died on spot.

All the accused hailed from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, the police commissioner said.

Nangare Patil has identified other suspects as Pappu alias Anuj Sahu, Akash Vijay Bahadur Singh Rajput, Parminder Singh, Subhash Gaur and one Guru.

Explaining how police picked up the trail of the robbers, the police commissioner said they traced Jitendra Bahadur Singh through one of the three motorcycles found abandoned at Ramshej near Nashik.

Another motorcycle is believed to have been used by accused Gaur when he was working with a security company in Nashik, he said, adding that further investigation is underway.