Police have arrested 12 suspects in connection with a ₹55 lakh robbery in which a vehicle carrying cash linked to a hawala operator was intercepted. Officials said ₹35 lakh has been recovered so far.
Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh, has seen the police crack the case of a ₹55 lakh hawala robbery that occurred on March 7. The police have arrested 12 accused involved in the robbery and recovered approximately ₹35 lakh in cash from them. Additionally, two motorcycles, an Activa scooter, an auto-rickshaw, and nine mobile phones have been seized. The police stated that some accused are still at large, and the remaining amount is with them. The police have also assured that the absconding accused will be apprehended soon.
Revealing details of the incident, the police stated that on March 7, around 9:30 PM, two assailants stopped a vehicle on the Smart City Road and snatched a bag at knifepoint. The bag contained ₹55,50,000. This amount was being transported through hawala channels. Divyang Barot, a resident of Chunabhatti, filed a report in this case on March 8. The police initiated an investigation and began searching for the accused. Ten police teams were engaged in the search, leading to the arrest of 12 individuals and the recovery of around ₹35 lakh in cash. The mastermind of the operation has been identified as Gaurav Chetwani, an accountant who planned the robbery due to mounting debts from online gambling.
According to the police, the accused had planned the robbery approximately three to four days before the incident. They conducted reconnaissance and then, on the night of March 7, pursued the individuals carrying the hawala money and executed the robbery. The 12 accused apprehended by the police, along with mastermind Gaurav Chetwani, include Haider Ur Rehman, Fazil alias Bhura, Alfej Ali, Mujammil, Shaan alias Decent, Sohail alias Gudda, Anwar Sheikh, Abdul Naveed, Shanu alias Sajil Ahmed, Salman Samad, and Faisal Khan. The police reported that the accused were apprehended with the help of the CCTV network and an informant system.