Kolhapur, Maharashtra: The police arrested seven suspects within 12 hours of a Rs 1.2 crore armed dacoity on a Mumbai-bound bus late Monday night near Wathar, about 22 km from Kolhapur city on the Bengaluru highway.
The accused allegedly forced the bus to stop and robbed 60 kg of silver, 10 g of gold, and machinery parts from an Angadia service staffer. The police have successfully recovered all the stolen property.
Investigations revealed that the bus cleaner, Saifu Afghani (22), from Madina Colony, Uchgaon village, colluded with his brother Jaid (21) and main suspect Akshay Kadam (31), a resident of Vikram Nagar, Kolhapur, along with four others: Aman Sayyad (21), Sujal Chougale (20), Adinath Vipate (25), and Adesh Kamble (18). The group had allegedly been planning the robbery for a week, motivated by debts of Rs 8 lakh owed by Saifu and Jaid.
According to police, Kadam and Jaid boarded the bus at Kawala Naka, accompanied by Saifu. After crossing Wathar, the duo threatened the driver and cleaner with a machete, forced the bus to stop, and looted the luggage containing valuables. Two more accused later arrived on bikes to aid the robbery.
Inspector Pramod Shinde, Vadgaon police station, said: “Tracking the suspects’ movement, we found Kadam’s house and recovered the stolen silver and gold. The remaining accused were arrested from Temblai Nagar where the valuables were to be distributed.”
The 31 passengers on the bus remained unaware of the robbery, likely asleep or masked by the air conditioning noise. The valuables are now in police custody and will be returned to the Angadia after court verification.
All seven accused were presented before Kolhapur court and police custody was granted till December 26.
