Delhi man held for highway robbery of Rs 35 lakh in Mumbai – Times of India

MUMBAI: A 34-year-old Delhi man has been arrested in connection with a daylight dacoity on Western Express Highway where a businessman’s SUV was smashed and Rs 35 lakh in cash was robbed earlier this month.
Police said Pankaj Mishra, the arrested accused, had made the strategy and was handpicked for the job by a Gujarat based gang of five. The gang is still on the run.
On December 13, garment businessman Sandeep Gurjar, 32, had picked up a bag of cash from a contact at Malad’s Diamond market and placed it on the backseat of an SUV.
Police said Gurjar wanted to start a new shop and had arranged for funds from an acquaintance in Karnataka.
At around 5.15pm, the car reached WEH at Kandivali with Gurjar’s friend at the wheel. Two men on a bike collided with the four-wheeler from the rear side. Gurjar got out of the SUV and went behind to check. He found an individual lying on the ground, claiming to be severely injured.
Meanwhile, another motorcycle came and the two men on it approached Gurjar’s friend at the wheel. They started to argue with him about the “road crash.” While Gurjar and his friend were still talking to these men, a third motorcycle arrived and its two occupants were carrying rods. They smashed the window panes of the SUV and fled with the bag of cash. By the time, Gurjar and his friend came rushing to the car to check, the other motorcyclists also left.
“The gang had been surveilling Diamond market for several hours when they spotted Gurjar placing a large bag in his car and decided to follow him,” said DCP Somnath Gharge. “We formed four teams and checked surveillance footage from more than 100 cameras. Mishra was tracked down to Chara Nagar in Ahmedabad,” he added. The police recovered Rs 11 lakh from him.
Mishra told the police that he had come to Mumbai the same day as the dacoity. Investigators suspect all the accused are repeat offenders.
“Motorcycles used in the crime are likely to be stolen as the numberplates on one of them was fake,” said investigating officer Chandrakant Gharge.