Representative image of arrested accused.
Credit: iStock Photo
Three persons hailing from Rajasthan were arrested on Sunday in connection with the robbery at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA P C Barada’s house in Gujarat’s Aravalli district, police said.
The trio from Dungarpur in Rajasthan bordering Aravalli were arrested for allegedly breaking into Baranda's house at Vankatimba village on the night of September 15, an official said.
Two of the accused had allegedly taken the MLA’s wife hostage while he was away and decamped with valuables worth Rs 16.3 lakh, he said.
One of the arrested accused was employed as a servant at the MLA's house, and had in the past stolen Rs 50,000, the official said, adding that another accused at whose house the plan for robbery was hatched in Rajasthan is absconding.
The accused servant had informed the three others about Baranda’s wife being alone on the night of the robbery, he said.
Baranda had taken voluntary retirement as a superintendent of police to contest the election from the Scheduled Tribe-reserved Bhiloda seat on a BJP ticket.
A case was registered at Shamlaji police station under sections 450 (house trespass), 342 (wrongful confinement), 394 (robbery), 397 (causing grievous hurt during dacoity) and 506 (2) (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code, the official said.
Two of the accused were apprehended when they were trying to enter Gujarat from the state border near Pandwala village, and the servant was also subsequently nabbed, he said.
The police have recovered valuables and a motorcycle used in the crime worth Rs 7.70 lakh, the official added.