Rajkot 150 kg silver robbery: Police trace 111 kg, fear rest melted into ingots and sold in black market

Investigation has revealed that portions of the jewellery were given away to other people to sell in the market for a commission. According to the police, at least nine accused from Ahmedabad, Banaskantha, and Botad were involved in the burglary and its disposal, of which five are still absconding.

While the Crime Branch in Ahmedabad managed to recover 80 kg of the stolen loot in two equal tranches of 40 kg each, the Crime Branch in Rajkot recovered and seized 31 kg more on February 12.

However, interrogation of the arrested accused has led the police to suspect that silver ornaments weighing approximately 40 kg may have already been melted down into ingots and funnelled through intermediaries into the jewellery black market in the state.

The jewellery, worth approximately Rs 1.65 crore, was stolen from the house. (Express Photo)

The burglary is suspected to have taken place between 2 am and 3 am. The house belonged to a jeweller’s relative, where he had stored the huge quantity of ornaments, which had about 50 per cent silver content, which accounted for the low value compared to soaring prices the shining metal has seen in recent days.

The business of the victim in this case was to provide silver against silver. The businessman used to keep ornaments of 50 per cent silver content and exchange them for pure silver, said police officials.

An FIR was filed at the B Division police station in Rajkot city.

The Detection of Crime (DCB) Ahmedabad got its first breakthrough on February 8, when they arrested Pradeep Champalal Prajapati, 24, with 40.738 kg of the loot from Ahmedabad. However, in a statement, the Crime Branch said it found that Pradeep was not directly involved in the robbery. It was allegedly Pradeep’s maternal cousin, Mukesh Ramaram Prajapati, who was the ‘mastermind’ who had given Pradeep his portion of the loot to dispose of in the black market.

Mukesh, who had been arrested and released by Nikol police in Ahmedabad in another house break-in case, is on the run. Meanwhile, the Crime Branch reached out to bullion traders in the city, asking them to be aware of anyone selling the stolen silver, urging them to report it to the police.

The following day, the Ahmedabad Crime Branch arrested another suspect, Mangusingh Jabarsingh Rathod, from the Naroda area of Ahmedabad and recovered another 40 kg of the loot, with one-fourth of it already melted down to be sold.

Caught melting the metal

Mangusingh, named as a ‘key suspect’, allegedly turned out to be the middleman who had been tasked with the melting down of the silver to be sold into the market. This was apparent in recovery, which included 30 kg of original silver ornaments and 10 kg of silver in melted form, apart from a specialised furnace and other tools used to melt ornaments.

The clue to the ‘missing’ 40 kg came after the B Division police secured the remand of Mangusingh, who had been caught while trying to melt the jewellery down to conceal its provenance and channel it into the black market.

Inspector S S Rane from B division police station, Rajkot city, said, “Mangusingh’s interrogation led to the revelation that he had been given about 80 kg of the loot, of which he had already melted down half and sold it. In return for selling 40 kg of silver, he received a commission of Rs 7 lakh and a silver coin. Overall, he was to receive a 10 per cent commission for his efforts.”

The police are still trying to find out who purchased the tainted silver from Mangusingh.

Then, on February 11, the Crime Branch in Rajkot not only managed to apprehend two men and the two SUVs—a Hyundai Creta and a Toyota Fortuner—used in the heist, but also recovered a further 30.580 kg of the looted silver ornaments. The Rajkot Crime Branch arrested Ratansingh Dukhji Rathod of Banaskantha and Raju alias Raja Kanu Bhojak of Botad along with the loot.

These three seizures brought the total recovery to 111.318 kg.

Where’s the missing silver?

According to the police’s calculations based on interrogation of the accused, about 40 kg of the loot still remained unaccounted for and could have already been melted down and sold off.

Rane told The Indian Express, “There were a total of five persons directly involved in the loot at the premises where the silver had been stored. A sixth accused was identified as Raja Bhojak, who had provided a car for the commission of the crime. After the loot, the accused drove to a village near Botad and divided the proceeds of the crime amongst themselves.”

Inspector Rane said that Raja and his cousin Jagdish Bhupat Bhojak (absconding) had kept three bags for themselves, which contained 30 kg, and were recovered by the Rajkot Crime Branch. According to the police, Mukesh, Ratansingh, and Chhotu Bhaiyya had taken about 7 bags, and Mukesh tried to dispose of 40 kg of this silver in Ahmedabad, through his cousin Pradeep, who had been caught with it.

Five of the accused—Shailendrasingh alias Selsingh Rajput, Jagdish Bhupat Bhojak, Mukesh Ramaram Prajapati, Chhotu Bhaiyya and Shravansingh—are still absconding, and the police hope that some of the loot could be recovered from their possession.

Was it an inside job?

Inspector Rane said, “We have learnt that Mukesh had told co-accused Ratansingh, while trying to convince him to join the heist, that he had information about the location of a large cache of silver and had already conducted reconnaissance of the premises and that it was a ‘safe choice’ to loot.” However, the police are still investigating how Mukesh learnt of the location of the silver and if there was an insider involved.