22 April,2017 07:19 PM IST | | Asif Rizvi
A month old theft of Rs 1.5 crore was solved, after cops learnt that the three accused had purchased an SUV to visit various temples and go on the Char Dham yatra
Gautam Lakhani (in green), Jaswant Singh (in black) and Bhagwan Singh (in red) after their arrest
Gautam Lakhani (in green), Jaswant Singh (in black) and Bhagwan Singh (in red) after their arrest
It helped the police that a trio of cheats decided to seek forgiveness for their crime. A month old theft of Rs 1.5 crore was solved, after they learnt that the three accused had purchased an SUV to visit various temples and go on the Char Dham yatra. They were arrested on Wednesday.
Bhagwan Singh, alias Bhagle, had cheated his employer, a Vile Parle-based forex company of foreign currency totalling Rs 1.5 crore. Bhagwan planned the theft with his friend Jaswant Singh Rajput.
"On March 18, Bhagwan collected cash from another forex company, and did not return to his office. He and Jaswant went to Ahmedabad, and he switched off his cell phone," said a police official from Vile Parle police station.
Seeking forgiveness
His employer then registered an FIR in the matter. Bhagwan and Jaswant later went to Rajasthan, where they met another accused Gautam Lakhani. They then purchased a car and visited temples across different states; they even went to Vaishno Devi to seek forgiveness for their crime, the police said.
"To evade arrest, Bhagwan used to purchase a new SIM card and cell phone, and after contacting friends or family he would dispose of them. We finally found that he was in Rajasthan. A team of six officials including Inspectors Santosh Shinde and Ashish Karle camped in Rajasthan, where they learned that an unemployed youth had purchased a Scorpio, and gone for Char Dham yatra with two friends," a police official said.
After visiting Vaishno Devi the trio were going to a math in Gorakhpur after halting in Rajasthan, where they were arrested on Wednesday.
Police speak
DCP Zone VIII, Virendra Mishra said, "The trio has been booked under sections 408, 420, 379 and 120B of the IPC. We have recovered most of the cash, and have also seized the car. They have been remanded in police custody till April 22."
