Thane: Seven arrested for looting ₹12 lakh, including 50,000 Saudi Riyals, from a woman on her way to the airport | File Photo
Thane: The Anti-Extortion Cell of Thane police arrested seven people who carried arms for allegedly looting a woman who was traveling in a cab of Rs 12 lakh, including 50,000 Saudi Riyals. The arrested suspects included one juvenile, who was presented to the Juvenile Justice Board.
The accused have been identified as Mohit Hinduja, 19, Varun Hotwani, 20, Rohan Redkar, 19, Swapnil Sasane, 21, Anwar Shaikh, and Neeta Bhakti, 40, along with one juvenile offender. They are all residents of Ulhasnagar and Kalyan.
A case was filed by Sunita Pille, 45, a resident of Ulhasnagar. On December 5, she was booked a cab heading towards Mumbai Airport and then she was about to going Dubai. Six people stopped her car after blocking her vehicle when it reached Thane. They told her and the driver that police and customs officers were coming, and they stopped the car.
A car was parked on the side of the road, and they forcefully opened the door of her car and decamped with two bags containing 12 lakh, including 50,000 Saudi Riyals. The complainant resisted, but they took away two bags looted her.
Following this, the victim approached the Rabodi police station to file an FIR against unknown persons. A case was registered under sections 310(2), 309(6), 3(5), and 49 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the relevant sections of the Arms Act.
Sunil Tarmale, a police inspector from the Anti-Extortion Cell of Thane Police, said, “A team was formed to crack the case. We were reviewing over 100 pieces of CCTV footage from Ulhasnagar to Thane and checking tower locations. With the help of technical intelligence, we traced them and apprehended them on December 11. During the interrogation, it was revealed that the kingpin is Neeta Bhakti, who recognized the complainant well. Neeta knew the complainant’s schedule and what she was carrying with her to go to Dubai. Neeta alerted the other accused about it. They all hatched a plan to loot her. They followed her car after she left Ulhasnagar for Mumbai Airport.”
The police seized a car, two motorcycles, a country-made revolver, one live cartridge, and a mobile phone worth Rs 21 lakh from their possession.
The police said two cases were registered against Rohan Redkar at Ambernath Police and the Central Police under the charges of attempted murder and the Arms Act. One case was booked against Hemant Hinduja at the Central Police Station under the charge of attempted murder.
