In a dramatic swim chase through a river stream, the Pune Rural police last month apprehended a gang of five armed robbers who had fled with gold ornaments and cash valued at over Rs 1 crore after a daring daylight heist at a jewellery shop in Khanapur.
Five bike-borne robbers targeted the gold jewellery shop on the Pune-Panshet road in the Haveli taluka on December 26. At around 12.30 pm, when the shop owner, Amol Babar, and two women staff members were inside, the five men allegedly entered the premises wearing black masks and hoods covering their heads.
They were allegedly armed with sickles and sword-like, sharp weapons. Upon entering, they jumped over the counter, after which the staff raised an alarm, the police said.
One of the assailants, described as fair-complexioned and wearing a light brown checked hoodie, allegedly threatened the staff by waving a sickle and warned them not to shout, demanding that they quiety hand over whatever was asked.
The assailants then smashed the glass of the showcase and the counter tray placed on the table in front, removed the gold ornaments kept for display, and stuffed them into a plastic bag they had brought with them, said the police.
During the attack, owner Amol Babar was holding a mobile phone. One of the assailants allegedly assaulted him by hand, broke his mobile phone, and verbally abused him. Subsequently, one of the accused allegedly damaged two CCTV cameras installed in the shop using a sickle.
Another person remained stationed outside the shop, keeping a lookout for anyone approaching, said the police. The assailants also allegedly attacked and injured the two women staffers. After collecting the gold ornaments in a plastic bag, all five armed robbers left the shop, the police said.
The assailants allegedly rode away on two bikes parked outside the shop, heading towards Panshet. The staff then called the 112 emergency number and also contacted the owner’s wife.
Sandeep Singh Gill, Superintendent of Police, Pune Rural, formed six investigation teams comprising officers from the Haveli police station and Local Crime Branch (LCB). One of the first clues the investigation teams obtained was on the movement of the bikes used by the accused to flee. As the team traced their route, it came to light that they had fled towards a forest area in Singapur village in the Velhe taluka.
Robbers jump into river after ditching their two-wheelers
The police team reached a particular location in the Velhe taluka based on the technical leads they had obtained. A local cricket match was ongoing, and two of the accused were seen standing near the match venue. When they saw the police vehicle, they fled from the location and ran towards the river, said the police.
After a vehicle chase, the suspects ditched their two-wheeler and started running. The police team began chasing the suspects on foot across rugged, non-motorable terrain.
“The suspects went near the river and jumped into the water. Two members of the LCB team, who reached the riverbank first, jumped into the river. But instead of just swimming behind the suspects, our team members swam to the corner and nabbed the suspects on the opposite bank. Meanwhile, the other personnel of the police team reached the opposite bank and helped apprehend the two suspects. Subsequently, three more accused were also nabbed based on the leads given by those caught first,” said an officer from the investigation team.
The police recorded the arrests of two accused, Ankush Dagdu Kachre, 20, and Ganesh Bhambu Kachre, 23, and apprehended their three minor accomplices. The police also arrested another man who had allegedly supplied a weapon used in the crime and was part of the conspiracy.
A probe revealed that Kachre is a history sheeter and had three prior offences. The police subsequently recovered the sharp weapons used in the heist and most of the looted gold ornaments.
The Pune Rural police with the arrested accused and recovered jewellery. (Source: Express Photo) 
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