How cops cracked Rs 10-cr heist in 2 days
Acting on information provided by the Hyderabad police, the Mumbai police special branch kept an eye on persons coming to sell jewellery in the city's bullion markets. They also conducted searches in some hotels. It was during the searches that they stumbled on Vinod Ramboli Singh and diamond merchant Ajay Jawar Singh from a hotel in Dahisar, north Mumbai.
Vinod Singh, a native of Uttar Pradesh, was well-known to the Mumbai police. He had 18 criminal cases registered against him, including dacoities and robberies. He was released from jail only on March 25 this year and externed from Mumbai.
The police believe that Vinod Singh and his associate Srikant Singh, who is still absconding, carried out the heist at the Alukkas jewellery showroom on the night of May 15.
Ajay Singh, a diamond dealer from Surat, was apparently helping Ramboli Singh dispose the looted jewellery and diamonds. The Mumbai police recovered all the stolen property from them. Alukkas' executives would have to go to Mumbai and identify the recovered jewellery and diamonds.
Image: Joint Commissioner of crime branch, Mumbai, Meera Borwankar inspecting the recovered jewellery.
Photograph: Arun Patil