Mumbai: The Bandra police have registered a case against four employees of ‘Max Packers and Movers’ for allegedly cheating a customer. While shifting household items from Mumbai to Lonavala, the accused allegedly broke open a bag and stole gold and silver ornaments worth Rs.16.15 lakh. Max Packers and Movers is a company based in Kandivali East that offers services for relocating household items from one location to another.

According to the FIR, the complainant, Manasi Kulkarni, 46, a yoga teacher residing in Bandra West, contacted ‘Max Packers and Movers’ on August 9 to arrange the transport of her household items from her residence to Lonavala, where her father lives. On the same day, the company sent four employees identified as Pappu, Pradeep Kumar, Khan and Ajay to her Bandra home.

While packing the luggage, one of the workers requested some old clothes for his father for him. Kulkarni gave him a bag containing her father’s old clothes. After loading the belongings into a tempo, she travelled with them to Lonavala. In total, there were seven people in the vehicle, including the driver.

She had kept ornaments and important documents in a travel bag. When she tried to keep the travel bag with her in the cabin, an employee assured her that, since the bag was locked, it could be safely placed at the back. She informed them that it contained valuables and specifically requested them to take special care of it before placing it behind and she sitting in the driver’s cabin.

On the way to Lonavala, one employee alighted at Kalanagar, Bandra East, around 5.30 p.m. carrying a bag of old clothes. When she asked why he had got down, the others told her he was in a hurry for some work and immediately restarted the tempo.

The tempo reached her father’s Lonavala residence at around 9 p.m. After unloading the items, Kulkarni returned to Bandra on August 10, as she did not open the languages immediately.

On September 3, she went to Lonavala again. On September 7, while checking the bag containing her documents and ornaments, she discovered that its lock had been broken and the valuables were missing. She alleged that the accused had transferred the ornaments and documents to the bag of old clothes taken by the employee at Kalanagar. The stolen items were worth around Rs.16.15 lakh.

Following the discovery, she lodged a complaint with the Bandra police against the four employees Pappu, Pradeep Kumar, Khan and Ajay — who had come to her house. Based on her complaint, the police registered a case under Sections 316(2) (criminal breach of trust) and 3(5) (act committed by several persons in furtherance of a common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita on September 15.

Navi Mumbai: The Crime Branch Unit-3 has arrested a jewellery store driver for allegedly staging a robbery and siphoning off gold ornaments and cash worth Rs 5.90 lakh in Panvel.

The accused, identified as Shailesh Dilip Kamble (38), an employee of B.B. Banthia Jewellers, had falsely claimed he was robbed by two unidentified men near Khanda Colony railway bridge on September 11.

Police said Kamble was assigned to collect jewellery and cash from the company’s offices in Khanda Colony and Kalamboli. Instead of delivering it, he allegedly hid the valuables inside the dickey of his electric TVS iQube scooter.

Later, he fabricated a story that two men on a Pulsar motorcycle, wearing helmets, had accosted him at knifepoint and snatched the ornaments and money. Based on his complaint, a case of armed robbery was registered at Khandeshwar Police Station.

A parallel investigation was carried out by Crime Branch Unit-3 under the supervision of ACP (Crime) Ajaykumar Landge and Senior PI Avinash Kaldat. During the probe led by API Pawan Nandre, PSI Abhaysingh Shinde, and their team, several discrepancies were found in Kamble’s statement.

No suspicious movement or persons were seen at the alleged crime spot, further raising doubts. On sustained interrogation, Kamble confessed to staging the robbery and handed over the jewellery hidden in his scooter.

“The accused tried to mislead police by staging a dramatic robbery, but his version was full of inconsistencies. He finally admitted to the crime and the entire amount has been recovered,” said ACP (Crime) Ajaykumar Landge. Police said Kamble has been arrested and further investigation is underway.

Mumbai: In a swift operation carried out by the Thane railway police, a two-year-old boy, kidnapped from nearby KEM Hospital, was rescued in several hours from the clutches of the abductor, while he was fleeing on the Tutari Express. The accused, Amol Udalekar, 42, had befriended the child’s family during their stay outside the hospital and later took the boy along on the pretext of a stroll, said the police.

According to the FIR, the child’s mother Antima was admitted to the ICU of KEM Hospital due to respiratory issues. Her husband, Ajaykumar Harijan, 25, who hails from Shastrinagar, Surat, and currently resides in Bhiwandi, was staying with his mother and two children, in an open area near the hospital’s old building.

On the night of September 16 around 9.30pm, Harijan discovered that his two-yearold son was missing when he returned after visiting his wife. His mother informed him that a man, who had been frequently playing with the child over the past few days, had offered them a food parcel and taken the child away on the pretext of a stroll. Despite searching the hospital and surrounding areas, the child could not be located, prompting Harijan to file a complaint at the Bhoiwada police station.

According to the police, Udalekar was nabbed following a tip-off – received by the railway control room at CSMT – reporting a suspicious man traveling with a child in S-2 coach of the Tutari Express, which runs between Dadar and Sawantwadi. Acting promptly under the guidance of senior inspector Archana Dusane, a team, comprising officers Dhumale, Tajne, head constable Gopal, and constable Tichkule, apprehended the suspect late night at the Thane station.

During interrogation, it was confirmed that the child had been kidnapped from the premises of KEM Hospital earlier that evening. A case had already been registered against Udalekar under section 137(2) [related to kidnapping] of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and he has been handed over to the Bhoiwada police for further probe. Following the rescue, the child underwent a medical examination and was then placed under the care of the Janani Ashish Charitable Trust in Dombivli.

Investigation revealed that Udalekar had planned to flee to his native village in Sindhudurg. Police are currently probing his background and motive behind the abduction.