A marriage invitation card has played a crucial role in solving a robbery case in Palghar district, Maharashtra, with the victim’s brother found to be one of the culprits, an official confirmed on Thursday.
The incident occurred on March 28 near Vavar village in Jawhar, when the victim, 30-year-old Boru Khandu Binnar from Khodala in Mokhada taluka, was traveling in a pickup van. According to District Superintendent of Police, Balasaheb Patil, three unidentified individuals flagged him down, claiming that their motorbike had broken down.
Trusting their plea for assistance, the victim instructed his van driver to stop and help them. However, the robbers then threw chili powder in the eyes of both the victim and the driver, before stealing a sum of Rs 6,85,500 in cash that was stored behind the driver’s seat. The assailants also threatened the victim before fleeing the scene.
A case was registered at Jawhar police station under sections 309(4) (robbery) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code. During the investigation at the scene, the police discovered traces of chili powder, along with an unusual piece of evidence—a marriage invitation card, which was used to wrap the chili powder.
Tracking down the individual named on the invitation led investigators to Dattu Khandu Binnar (34), the victim’s own brother, who was allegedly behind the planning of the robbery. Further investigation resulted in the arrest of three other suspects: Kiran Ananta Lamte (23), a resident of Mokhada, whose name appeared on the invitation, and Parmeshwar Kamlakar Zole (24) and Dada Bajirao Pehre (24), both from Nashik.
The police were able to recover the entire stolen cash from the arrested suspects. All four individuals have been taken into custody over the past few days.
