27 kg gold looted from SBI branch in Jalgaon's Bhokari; four held within hours

An armed gang robbed the State Bank of India branch at Bhokari in Jalgaon taluka, taking 27 kg of gold and more than Rs 12 lakh in cash. Police arrested four accused within a few hours and recovered all six bags of loot. Two country-made pistols and the two two-wheelers used in the crime were also seized.

The robbery took place on Sunday at around 2.45 pm. The armed men entered the Bhokari branch and spread panic by firing at the floor. They then tied up the staff and the manager and gagged them. Threatening the employees, they packed about 27 kg of gold and more than Rs 12 lakh in cash into six bags. They then fled on two motorcycles. Bank officials afterwards appealed for help.

Jalgaon police went into action as soon as they heard of the robbery. Vigilance was stepped up on likely escape routes, and different police teams began a joint search. The accused's appearance, their clothes and details of their two motorcycles were circulated to the public. Local residents responded to the police appeal and played an important part in the search.

With the help of locals, one accused was caught, while his companion ran into a nearby field. The Local Crime Branch team, which was searching the roads under police sub-inspector (PSI) Valte, did not give up the chase. After a search of about an hour and a half, he was caught in the Dikasai village area. Two bags were recovered from him.

Meanwhile, police learnt that the remaining two accused were fleeing towards Dharangaon on a motorcycle. Senior Police Inspector Umakant Gaikwad of Dharangaon police station and his team had set up a blockade near the Chavsakhede tunnel. With the help of locals, police stopped the two and took them into custody. The remaining four bags were seized from them. Within a few hours, all four accused were in police custody and all six bags had been recovered.

When produced in court, the four accused, named as Shankar Jasak, Ankush Chavan, Gajanan Pawar and Ankush Chavan, were remanded in police custody for 10 days. Police are investigating the conspiracy behind the robbery, the roles of others in the crime and the criminal records of the accused.

According to preliminary information, three of the accused had met a few years ago in Jalgaon District Jail. The investigation has found that they later brought in the fourth accused and conspired to rob the Bhokari branch of the bank. The nature of the conspiracy and the role of each accused are part of the police investigation.

The past records of the accused are also startling. Shankar Ramesh Jasak was a police sub-inspector of the 113th batch of 2015 in the Maharashtra Police. While posted with the Raigad district police, he was named as an accused in an SBI robbery case registered at Shanipeth police station in Jalgaon, after which he was dismissed from police service in 2023. Earlier, in 2018, he had also been suspended after a case linked to an Anti-Corruption Bureau action was registered in Mahad.