Eight arrested for highway robbery; Rs 40.5 lakh loot seized in Karnataka's Belagavi

p>Belagavi: Khanapur police have arrested eight persons in connection with a highway robbery in which two travellers were robbed at gunpoint on the Uchwade-Bailur Road in Khanapur taluk while on their way to Goa. Police have recovered cash, gold ornaments and vehicles used in the crime, collectively valued at Rs 40.50 lakh..Speaking to reporters here on Saturday, Superintendent of Police K Ramarajan said the robbery took place on May 20 when S K Ibadul, a native of Hooghly district in West Bengal who is presently residing in Shahapur, Belagavi and works as a goldsmith, was travelling to Goa in a car along with his friends Rabiyul Ghazi and Ali Hussain Mandal, both natives of North 24 Parganas district in West Bengal and currently residing in Dane Galli in Belagavi. .Three interstate burglars held in Bengaluru; gold & silver worth Rs 40 lakh recovered.At around 7.15 pm, while they were passing through the Uchwade-Bailur Road, two cars intercepted their vehicle and forced them to stop and alight from the car. The assailants threatened them with a firearm and escaped with Rs 1 lakh in cash and 225 grams of gold belonging to Ghazi..During the investigation, police found that Ghazi and Mandal had allegedly conspired to rob Ibadul under the pretext of taking him to Goa.

According to the SP, they contacted Sadiq Abdulrehman Torgal of Shahapur, who in turn engaged Vivek Chandrakant Patil, also of Shahapur, offering him Rs 3 lakh to execute the robbery. Patil, along with four associates, allegedly carried out the crime..The arrested accused have been identified as Rabiyul Ghazi, Ali Hussain Mandal, Sadiq Abdulrehman Torgal, Vivek Chandrakant Patil, Prashant Mahadev Chavan of Tangdi Galli, Nitin Rajaram Chavan of Gayatri Nagar in Khasbag, Digambar Nagesh Patil of Shivshakti Nagar in Angol, and Mayur Raju Ghadi of Baswan Galli, Shahapur.

Police said Ghadi had allegedly supplied the country-made pistol used in the robbery..Ramarajan said police recovered three cars used in the crime worth Rs 9 lakh, the looted cash of Rs 1 lakh, a country-made pistol, a knife, eight mobile phones, a motorcycle worth Rs 50,000, 205 gram of gold valued at around Rs 27 lakh and two imitation bangles. The total value of the recovered property is estimated at Rs 40.50 lakh..Further investigation is underway.