Inter-State Gang Busted for Robbing Courier Office in Maharashtra

Police arrested five members of an inter-state gang who allegedly robbed a courier office owner of over Rs 73,000 at gunpoint. The Crime Detection Cell of Manickpur police identified and arrested the suspects based on CCTV footage and intelligence inputs. Weapons and materials worth Rs 3.14 lakh were recovered.

Police have apprehended five members of an inter-state gang, days after they allegedly robbed a courier office owner of more than Rs 73,000 using weapons at Manickpur in Maharashtra's Palghar district, according to an official statement on Wednesday.

The operation was spearheaded by the Crime Detection Cell of Manickpur police, under the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar police commissionerate, following the incident which occurred on August 19. On that day, armed dacoits stormed into a courier office and took Rs 73,700 from the owner at gunpoint, with one wielding a chopper, reported senior inspector Raju Mane of the Manickpur police station. The police scrutinized footage from 100 different CCTV cameras and, aided by technical and intelligence inputs, first apprehended Ajay Balram Mandal, a local resident. His questioning then led to the capture of other suspects, identified as Shankar Gowda from Chikkamagaluru in Karnataka, Vijay Singh from Uttar Pradesh, Mohammad Shaikh from New Delhi, and Lalmani Yadav from Jharkhand.

The suspects are already facing criminal cases in various states, including Karnataka, Gujarat, and Maharashtra. In connection to the Manickpur heist, the police have registered a case against them under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including sections 310 (dacoity), 311 (robbery or dacoity with intent to cause death or grievous hurt), 309 (robbery), and 351(2) (criminal intimidation). During the investigation, the authorities recovered an automatic pistol, eight live rounds, a car, and other materials collectively valued at Rs 3.14 lakh.

(With inputs from agencies.)