Gold heist: Seven arrested by Vijayawada police; Rs 1 crore jewellery recovered

Vijayawada: Vijayawada city police arrested seven accused in connection with the robbery at a gold jewellery workshop that happened at Beasant Road on July 11. Police recovered 4.025 kg gold worth Rs 1 crore, from the arrested. 

Vijayawada police  commissioner Damodar Gautam Sawang, presenting the arrested before mediapersons here on Monday, said Santosh Aditya Bansraj Singh, 43, a notorious criminal from Uttar Pradesh with around 17 cases pending in various states was the mastermind behind the robbery. The other accused include Dasarath Dugudu, 46, Suresh Ayyakutti Tevar, 29, a native of Tamil Nadu, Khaja Moinuddin Khan, 24, and three others. On reliable information that there was a huge quantity of gold in Shankar Munna's shop, the gang robbed 5 kg gold by threatening the inmates with one rifle, two pistols and knives on July 11.  Later, they fled the place in a van.

Police, who acted immediately following information from the workers in the shop, traced the vehicle on its way to Guntur with the help of CCTV footage and alerted Guntur police. However, the gang managed to escape and they left the vehicle on the outskirts of Guntur. Then they travelled to Tirupati through various means of transport.

Police, with the help of the car and a mobile phone left by the gang tracked their movement. They found that the vehicle number was tampered. The police contacted the owner of the vehicle with the help of the chassis number and got the details of the driver Suresh Ayyakutti Tevar, one of the accused. The gang stayed in a hotel in Tirupati for a day and then left to Tirunelveli.

On July 13, 2017, in a private vehicle. During their journey, they swiped a credit card at Renigunta which helped police track their movement towards Tamil Nadu.

From Tirunelveli, the gang went to Rameswaram in a vehicle and tried to hire a private boat to cross the sea but in vain.

The accused then distributed the stolen gold as per the agreement and dispersed in different directions, to Bengaluru, Pune and Mumbai. 

Around 102 police officials in the city, who formed into 11 special teams, followed the gang from Tamil Nadu. They went to Mumbai on flight and caught five accused there with the help of the local police and two more accused were arrested in West Bengal.

Mr. Sawang said all the seven arrested had a criminal background. He thanked police of Tamil Nadu, Bengaluru and Mumbai for their support in chasing the case.

He said police were still continuing search to nab three more accused, suspected to be moving in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. Failure of CC cameras at the gold workshop toughened the job of police, he said and suggested that all jewellers should instal high quality CC cameras on their premises. Munna Shekar thanked the police for recovering the gold.