Held: 6 who robbed tourists at Karnala

Crime branch officials have busted a gang who allegedly robbed tourists at Karnala Fort in Panvel. Six accused have been arrested and cash and electronic gadgets worth Rs2.5 lakh have been recovered from them.

The gang robbed tourists who visited the fort at odd hours by showing them a knife and wooden weapons and threatening to kill them. On November 1, they robbed a tourist from Kolkata who visited the place with his wife. “Around 2pm, they robbed Sukhendra Datta Mazumdar who was at the fort with his wife,” said Srikant Pathak deputy commissioner of police (crime).

They robbed his camera, a high-end mobile phone, five gold chains, a diamond ring and Rs200 cash. The total booty was worth Rs2,03,700.

Officials formed a team and finally arrested the main accused Ganesh Pawar, 22, a resident of Apta in Panvel, on November 22. They have recovered stolen items worth Rs2.5 lakh. Pawar’s arrest led to the arrest of other accused.

According to police, Pawar and one of the accused Sagar showed weapons to threaten while the remaining took away the victims’ cash, electronic gadgets and jewellery.

The police said the accused have been involved in this crime for a long time. So far, the police have recovered one camera, one gold ring, 50 mobile phones and other items.

“Prima facie it appears that they are involved in many crimes, but no one has registered a complaint against them. We are also checking whether they have involved in other crime also,” added Pathak. They have been booked under sections 392 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code.