Crime Branch busts interstate gang that robbed Nagpur jeweller of Rs 40 lakh gold at gunpoint

Nagpur: The Crime Branch has busted an interstate gang that robbed the owner of Dhomne Jewellers in MIDC of jewellery worth Rs 40 lakh at gunpoint. Police traced the accused through fingerprints found at the scene. Four accused have been arrested from Bareilly, Noida and Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, and a Fortuner has been recovered from them.

Rakesh Dhomne's Dhomne Jewellers is located on Hingna Road in MIDC. At the time of the incident, Rakesh's employee Shubham Hadge was in the shop when the accused entered. They threatened to kill Shubham at gunpoint and beat him. They looted around 350 grams of gold and silver jewellery from the shop and fled. The Crime Branch, along with MIDC police, began investigating the case. Police analysed more than 400 CCTV footage clips and began identifying suspects with technical investigation and the help of AI. Fingerprints of the accused had been found at the scene. After analysing them, two Crime Branch teams were sent to Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.

Police pursued the accused for seven days, after which they were taken into custody from Bareilly, Noida and Meerut. Police first detained Abhishek Singh Thakur from Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh. During intensive questioning, he gave information about his associates. On that basis, Jayram alias Jogindar Ashoksingh Thakur (19) and Shubhankit Nileshkumar Chaturvedi (22) were detained from Noida, while Rajan Shami Sharma (29) was detained from Meerut. Two members of the gang are absconding. Rajan is a resident of Nagpur and his family lives in Meerut. He comes from a well-off family and has criminal tendencies. Rajan was lodged in a Chennai jail in a cyber fraud case, where he befriended criminals from Uttar Pradesh. He stayed in touch with them and began committing crimes after his release from jail.

The accused planned a robbery in Delhi, but Rajan asked them to come to Nagpur. They came to Nagpur in September, hired a Thar and a bike here, gathered information about Rakesh Dhomne's shop and returned. They set out for Nagpur on October 1 to commit the robbery and, after carrying it out on October 3, fled. They left Uttar Pradesh for Uttarakhand. Nagpur Police sought help from IG Nilesh Bharne, a resident of Nagpur, and with his help Rajan Sharma was caught. The accused gave the looted jewellery to their absconding associate. Police said the case was solved through technical analysis of CCTV footage, the use of AI technology, better teamwork and coordination with police in other states. A Fortuner used in the crime has been recovered from the accused.