Mumbai Police’s Crime Branch arrested two men, Saurabh Tanaji Sathe (21) and Mohan Maruti Pawar (24), accused of breaking into a jeweller’s shop in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, and fleeing with gold and silver valued at over Rs57 lakh to Mumbai. The suspects were nabbed in Borivali within 24 hours of the theft, police said.
Acting on a tip-off that the duo was headed to Mumbai, the Crime Branch laid a trap in Borivali and intercepted the suspects. A search of their belongings led to the recovery of 478.45 grams of gold ornaments worth Rs48,00,000, 3.795 kg of pure silver valued at Rs4,50,000, 8 kg of raw silver worth Rs4,76,000, and cash amounting to about Rs20,000. The total seized property amounts to Rs57,46,000, as verified by an authorised goldsmith.
Officials said the accused had broken the shutters of the jeweller’s shop in Meerut before looting the store.
The operation was carried out under the guidance of Commissioner of Police Deven Bharti, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Lakhmi Gautam, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Shailesh Balkawade, DCP (Detection-1) Vishal Thakur, and ACP (Detection-North) Rajendra Shiratode.
The team included officers from several Crime Branch units, such as Sr PI Manohar Awad (Unit 11), Sr PI Sachin Gavas (Unit 12), PI Bharat Ghone (Unit 6), and others.
The accused remain in police custody, and further investigations are ongoing.
