Belagavi SP K Ramarajan said Sunday a team from the district have been coordinating with the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the Maharashtra Government to probe what is being described as one of the biggest robberies in the country. The Belagavi police team is in Nashik to get more details, Ramarajan added.
The case stems from a complaint filed at a Nashik police station in December last year by Maharashtra-based businessman Sandeep Dutta Patil, who alleged that two container trucks carrying demonetised ₹2,000 notes worth ₹400 crore belonging to Thane-based realtor Kishor Sawla were stolen in October last year.
According to Patil’s complaint, the robbery took place in the forest area of Chorla Ghat.
‘Can’t register an FIR based on hearsay’
According to a police officer in Belagavi, the Maharashtra Police have arrested five people, Jayesh Kadam, Vishal Naidu, Sunil Dhumal, Virat Gandhi, and Janardhan Dhaigude, in connection with the alleged Chorla Ghat heist.
“They suspect that there are more people behind the crime. They have not allowed us to question the arrested due to investigation reasons. We are waiting for their permission to allow us to question them,” said the officer.
However, SP Ramarajan said that no case has been registered in Karnataka so far, as there is no concrete evidence to substantiate the claims.
“We are ready to register an FIR only if there is evidence, an eyewitness, or if the victim approaches us. We cannot register an FIR based on hearsay,” he said, adding that formal communication has been sent to the Nashik Rural police seeking specific details and supporting evidence.
Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara said Sunday the probe is still at a preliminary stage and that the government would comment only after receiving concrete information.
‘One man kept a gun next to my ear’
Patil, who filed the complaint at the Ghoti Police Station in Maharashtra’s Nashik in December 2025, also alleged repeated harassment, abduction, and threats to his life following the reported heist.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Patil said he received a WhatsApp call at around 12.30 am on October 20, 2025, from a man identifying himself as Jayesh Kadam, who claimed to be a police officer.
“Kadam inquired about where I lived and whether there were police complaints against me. In the call that lasted around 27 minutes, he told me that Rs 400 crore was robbed at the Karnataka section of Chorla Ghat and I was behind it,” he said.
Patil alleged that Kadam threatened to pick him up from his house near Ghoti if he failed to cooperate. As Diwali celebrations were underway, Patil agreed to meet him on October 22.
“Around noon, I was taken away by Kadam and three others. They physically assaulted and abused me. One man kept a gun next to my ear, and threatened to shoot me dead,” he claimed.
A meeting with a realtor
Patil said he denied any involvement, stating that he was a real estate businessman; however, his abductors told him that they had credible information about his role. After several hours of interrogation, he was allegedly abandoned near Vadiwada.
He claimed that he and a friend were later picked up again near Nashik Road, and taken to meet realtor Sawla. “The realtor then realised that people behind the heist were someone else as he received a call from the person behind the robbery,” Patil said.
Before being released, Kadam, whom Patil claimed was accompanied by “another cop and two gangsters”, allegedly asked him to stay in touch, suspecting that someone known to him was involved in the Chorla Ghat robbery.
Patil further alleged that over the next one-and-a-half to two months, Kadam remained in contact with him, during which they concluded that Virat Gandhi, a manager employed by Sawla, was behind the robbery. Patil said he was asked to meet Sawla again in early December.
“I told Sawla I would file a complaint against Gandhi, but I was asked to wait, saying that Mumbai police were searching for Gandhi and would soon reveal why the robbers tried to frame me in the case. When I said my reputation was affected, he asked me to keep quiet and showed his photograph with senior politicians and IPS officers,” Patil alleged. He added that Sawla claimed to have influence even abroad, citing the alleged framing of one Arijit, who had asked Gandhi to carry out the heist, in a case in Dubai.
Fearing further trouble, Patil said he delayed approaching the police. He eventually submitted a petition to the Nashik superintendent of police on December 17, following which an FIR was registered at the Ghoti police station.
The investigation into the Chorla Ghat heist is underway.
The police are also examining if there are illegal immigrants elsewhere in Karnataka's coastal region. (File Photo) 
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