Mumbai: Auto driver escapes with gold, gets a makeover, fails to evade arrest

The rickshaw which the victim boarded at Lokmanya Tilak Terminus

Changing his own appearance and that of his vehicle didn't help this 37-year-old auto-rickshaw driver evade police arrest after he fled with a bag containing 7 tolas of gold left by a passenger. After the victim filed a complaint with the Govandi police, they traced him to Vishnu Nagar in Chembur and arrested him. As the cops have been able to recover only a part of the booty, they are still in the process of investigating the case.

According to the police, the incident took place on May 15 when victim Sandip Patil and his family hired two rickshaws from the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus. Accused Sajnath Jayprakash Morya was driving the rickshaw in which Patil was travelling. While getting down at Chembur, Patil didn't realise that he had left his bag containing gold in the rickshaw. However, instead of returning it to him, Morya quickly fled from the spot.

Accused Sajnath Jayprakash Morya

Tracing the accused
Initially, Patil didn't approach the police and instead tried to look for the rickshaw, but when he failed in his attempts, he approached the Govandi police station on May 18 and filed a complaint. A case was registered against the accused under section 379 of IPC. In his complaint, the victim gave the cops part of the vehicle's number, and a brief description of the auto and the driver as well. He also mentioned that the rickshaw cover was torn.

Meanwhile, the Govandi police interrogated more than 100 auto-rickshaw drivers but failed to trace the accused. Then Senior Police Inspector Shashikant Mane formed a team under Assistant Police Inspector Deepak Kharat and officers Sampath Nale, Anil Thorat and Jeevan Mohite to further investigate the case.

In the process, an informer told them that he had spotted the accused's rickshaw somewhere in Chembur but the vehicle didn't fully match the description given by the victim. Thereafter, the team reached the spot and nabbed the driver from his house. They recovered 5 tolas of gold and a mobile phone. A police officer said, "Morya was produced before the Kurla court and sent to police custody."

Fooling the cops?
Investigation has revealed that in order to escape police action, Morya coloured his hair and even repaired the rickshaw cover. Speaking to mid-day, Shashikant Mane, senior police inspector, said, "The case is being investigated further, as a part of the booty is yet to be recovered."

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