Mumbai: In a significant development, the alleged Rs 400-crore cash-heist and linked kidnapping case has been officially transferred to the Maharashtra State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on February 23, with the agency set to conduct a fresh investigation into the matter, senior officials confirmed. Administrative formalities for reopening the probe have been completed and the CID is expected to begin its investigation shortly. The move potentially overturns earlier findings that had termed the case fabricated.

The case was earlier investigated by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Nashik Rural Police, which, after roughly 25 days of investigation, concluded that the alleged robbery, along with the linked kidnapping claim, was “fictitious”. On February 12, the SIT filed a closure report before the Igatpuri Judicial Magistrate First Class Court, citing Section 189 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), according to court records, stating that the central premise of the alleged crime appeared fabricated and recommending closure of the case.

Sources at the state police headquarters said that an internal review at the senior command level examined aspects of the earlier probe conducted by the SIT and flagged what officials described as procedural concerns. According to senior officers familiar with the review, the findings indicated that the SIT proceeded with the closure proposal despite adverse remarks recorded by the Assistant Public Prosecutor (APP) regarding the proposed invocation of Section 189 of the BNSS.

Sources added that the review raised red flags over the reported role of certain senior police officers in unofficial investigation-related activities linked to the case, questioned the unusually swift completion of the SIT probe within about 25 days, and scrutinised the grounds on which the arrested accused were allowed to walk free, citing absence of evidence.

Special Public Prosecutor Ajay Assar confirmed that the APP had expressed reservations over the closure proposal and that detailed findings from the review had since been communicated to the Inspector General (Law and Order), following which the process to transfer the investigation to the CID was initiated a few days ago.

The transfer was formalised through an official order issued from the Maharashtra Police headquarters in Mumbai on February 23, directing that the investigation in the case registered at Ghoti Police Station under relevant provisions of the BNSS be handed over to the CID.

The order instructed the Additional Director General of Police (CID) to take over the probe and ensure that the investigation is completed within the prescribed time frame and a report submitted to the headquarters. It further directed the Superintendent of Nashik Rural Police to immediately transfer the complete original case papers, including the case diary and all related documents and evidence, to the CID and submit a compliance report.

Officials said that following the issuance of this order, the CID has begun the process of independently reassessing the material collected during the earlier investigation. The agency is expected to re-examine documentary and electronic evidence, record fresh statements where required, and scrutinise the sequence of events surrounding the alleged cash movement as well as the circumstances in which the robbery and kidnapping complaint was originally registered.

SIT chief and Additional Superintendent of Police (Nashik Rural) Aditya Milkhelkar said the investigation had been conducted properly and without mala fide intention, adding that any departmental scrutiny or related inputs would also be placed before the CID. He maintained that he had not acted under any improper influence and denied wrongdoing.

The case surfaced after a Nashik-based businessman lodged a complaint at Ghoti Police Station alleging kidnapping, extortion and the disappearance of a large cash consignment purportedly worth around Rs 400 crore in demonetised Rs 2,000 notes. According to the complaint, the money was allegedly being transported from Karnataka to a Gujarat-based ashram in Ahmedabad for conversion into legal tender when the alleged heist took place on October 16 at Chorla Ghat along the Maharashtra–Karnataka border.

Given the scale of the alleged amount and the seriousness of the kidnapping claim, the probe was taken over by the SIT of Nashik Rural Police. During the investigation, officers examined call data records, vehicle routes, financial transactions and statements of persons allegedly connected with the transport and handling of the cash.

During the probe, the SIT arrested eight accused, including builder Kishor Sawla, alleged hawala operator Virat Gandhi, a Government Railway Police officer and others previously named in the case. However, after completing the investigation within about 25 days, the SIT filed the closure report under Section 189 of the BNSS, which allows a magistrate to release accused when no prima facie case is established. In its report, the SIT concluded that neither the alleged Rs 400-crore heist nor the kidnapping of the complainant had taken place and that no material was found to substantiate the allegations. The report cleared all accused, allowing them to walk free, with the court observing that no criminal role had been established against them.

Sources said the internal review at the DGP office also examined complaints alleging that certain senior officials may have participated in parallel or unofficial inquiry-related activities connected to the case. These aspects, officials indicated, are also expected to be examined as part of the CID’s fresh investigation.