Five held over robbery of Rs 71 lakh jewellery in Palghar

Palghar: Police have arrested five persons in connection with the robbery of gold ornaments worth Rs 71 lakh from a jewellery shop in Maharashtra’s Palghar district, an official said on Saturday.

Cops have recovered valuables worth Rs 23.39 lakh from the gang, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone-II, Vasai) Poornima Chougule-Shringi. Some of its members face multiple cases.

A group of armed men had barged into a jewellery shop in the Vasai area on January 10 and taken away 949.55 grams of gold ornaments worth Rs 71 lakh after threatening the owner at gunpoint and assaulting him.

The official said police went through footage from nearly 600 CCTV cameras and worked on several inputs to track down two accused, identified as Anuj Gangaram Chowgule (36) and Royal, alias Roy Edward Sequeira (46). Subsequently, two more accused were taken into custody from Satara.

Later, police arrested a Solapur-based jeweller, who had bought the stolen valuables, from Karnataka. While Chowgule faces 20 criminal cases, Royal has been named in 12, the official said.

“We are now focusing on tracing any additional connections and ensuring that all stolen valuables are recovered,” said DCP Poornima Chougule-Shringi.