23 January,2024 05:27 AM IST | Mumbai | Apoorva Agashe
The thieves stole the medals to sell in scrap
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The Azad Maidan police have nabbed a group of six contractual labourers who had stolen 2,200 medals worth Rs 4.90 lakh from the Tata Mumbai Marathon. The group intended to sell the medal made of copper to the scrap dealer for money. "The six accused thought that the medals were made up of copper and hence they stole it to sell and make a quick buck. However, we nabbed the accused after tracking them through the CCTV footage," said an officer from the Azad Maidan police station.
"We tracked all the accused involved in the crime and produced them before the court on January 22. We have seized 620 medals worth Rs 1,38,880 from the group. They had hidden the medals at their accommodation in Fort. We are optimistic about seizing the remaining medals and checking if anyone else is involved," the officer added.
The matter came to light on January 21, when the complainant approached the police station to register an FIR. "There were tents set up at the Bombay Gymkhana Maidan, we had kept the medals which were supposed to be distributed to the runners. However, we found that out of 162 boxes, 22 boxes were missing.
In total, 2,200 medals were missing. We checked the CCTV footage and found out that six people were involved in the theft and hence we approached the police station to register an FIR against them," said the complainant while talking to mid-day. According to the police, all six alleged accused were employed as labourers by a contractor in the Tata Mumbai Marathon. They had allegedly stolen the medals and fled from the scene.
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The police examined the CCTV footage tracked one of the accused Vignesh Thevar at the Gymkhana, and arrested him. Subsequently, Thevar confessed to the names of other individuals, leading to their apprehension. The group has been granted three days of police custody.
The accused apprehended have been identified as Vignesh Pandey Thevar, 20; Nasir Abdul Shaikh, 24; Primal Valenteier; Ganesh Salunke, 24; Rohit Singh, 23; and Amir Rafik Shaikh, 26. The group had been booked under section 379 (Theft), 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code by the Azad Maidan police station.
2,200
Total medals stolen
