14 kg Gold loot: Parents of looter brother-sister duo also nabbed by police

Ahmedabad: The police today also arrested the parents of the brother-sister duo who looted 14.2 kg gold worth over Rs 4 crore from a cash logistic company in the city in a sensational and somewhat filmy manner on late Friday night.

18 year old BBA student in GLS college here Sagar Bhagchandani and his step sister Pinky (24), a divorcee living with her parents, were nabbed by the crime branch yesterday within hours of the crime and 13.5 kg of gold bars recovered from one of their houses in Vastral. The whole family was involved in the crime which prima facie was committed to get rid of the heavy debt accumulated owing to luxurious life style and losses in betting.

PI of the Navrangpura police station today said that father of the culprits Santram Bhagchandani, an auto dealer, and his second wife Komal (mother of Sagar), the two co-accused in the case for assisting the crime, have also been arrested from their residence in Vastrapur area. Komal had sent Whatsapp messages to his son during the crime with instruction to commit the robbery safely while Santram, who lives in Indraprastha tower in Vastrapur police station area had hidden the looted gold bars in his another house in Vastral.

Sagar had handed over around 700 gm of gold bars to two of his acquaintances from whom he had taken a loan. He had due payment in his name of over Rs 4.5 lakh in a hookah bar in the city and he had also lost over Rs 11 lakh in a cricket betting. He had taken a loan from two private lenders at hefty rates and to repay it within s stipulated time frame he committed the crime.

A crime branch official today said that investigation of the matter was still on.

The sensational loot in a plush area of the commercial capital of Gujarat was recorded in the CCTV camera fitted inside the office of SIS Cash Services, a joint venture with Prosegur of Spain, one of the largest cash logistics service provider in India, which provides cash in transit, ATM replenishment and safekeeping of of valuables such as jewellery, bullion and cash among other such services.

The brother and the sister wearing masks had entered the office premises of SIS Prosegur after mid night of Friday between 2 to 3 am and injured one of the security gunman on duty there who fainted after several blows on his head by the looters with some blunt object . They had then entered the vault and decamped with kg gold kept in a box.

DeshGujarat