Walkie-talkies, not cell phones: How robbers tried to evade detection but were still caught by police

The first breakthrough came in when the police team zeroed in one particular car and ascertained that it belonged to the suspects.

On July 24, the police team arrested the first suspect identified as Suresh Laduram Dhaka (29), a notorious criminal with 21 prior cases including attempted murder and armed robberies in Rajasthan and Gujarat. (Express photo)

When Pimpri Chinchwad police launched a probe after a elderly businessman was robbed at gunpoint at his residence by armed assailants who had tied and gagged him, one detail stood out—there was an unusual absence of mobile activity.

After analysing CCTV footage across a staggering 1,200 kilometres upto Rajasthan to arrest the suspects, they finally uncovered the reason—the robbers had used walkie-talkies to communicate with each other.

The 76-year-old businessman was robbed at gunpoint at his residence in Nigdi Pradhikaran by armed assailants who had stormed the house on the night of July 19 before tying and gagging him. They had also locked his domestic help’s family in the outhouse and fled with gold ornaments and valuables worth over Rs 6 lakh.

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An FIR was registered at Nigdi police station by the victim Chandrabhan Chhoteram Agarwal, a resident of Nigdi Pradhikaran, following which the Nigdi police and Pimpri Chinchwad police’s crime branch launched a joint probe.

As part of the initial probe, the investigation teams scanned through over 200 CCTV cameras in the area. The first breakthrough came in when the police team zeroed in one particular car and ascertained that it belonged to the suspects.

The police team then traced the route taken by the car for 1,200 kilometers to Jaipur in Rajasthan. On July 24, the police team arrested the first suspect identified as Suresh Laduram Dhaka (29), a notorious criminal with 21 prior cases including attempted murder and armed robberies in Rajasthan and Gujarat.

Dhaka was arrested from Shyamnagar in Jaipur. From him, the police recovered jewellery of the victim’s wife, her Aadhaar card, the victim’s wallet along with four walkie talkie sets.

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“When we launched a probe, there was an unusual absence of cell phone activity from the location. We solved that puzzle when we recovered the walkie talkies from the suspect. They had been using walkie talkies among themselves to avoid getting detected,” said an officer who is part of the probe.

Subsequent to leads obtained from Dhaka, the police team zeroed in on another suspect—Mahipal Ramlal Bishnoi (19), a native of Jodhpur but currently working at Vadgaon Maval in Pune district.

Bishnoi was arrested on July 27 from Talegaon area of Pune. Police have launched a manhunt for four more suspects including a woman, who has been identified as part of the investigation.

Sushant Kulkarni

Sushant Kulkarni is a Special Correspondent with The Indian Express in Pune with 12+ years of experience covering issues related to Crime, Defence, Internal Security and Courts. He has been associated with the Indian Express since July 2010. Sushant has extensively reported on law and order issues of Pune and surrounding area, Cyber crime, narcotics trade and terrorism. His coverage in the Defence beat includes operational aspects of the three services, the defence research and development and issues related to key defence establishments. He has covered several sensitive cases in the courts at Pune. Sushant is an avid photographer, plays harmonica and loves cooking. ... Read More

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