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MUMBAI: A chauffeur who had worked for a developer for 17 years was arrested from Akola where he had fled with Rs 1.06 crore belonging to his employer. Police said the accused, Santosh Chavan, had discarded his mobile phone and changed vehicles only at locations that were not covered by surveillance cameras. A majority of the stolen cash has been recovered.
The theft was reported on October 11.The developer was headed to a government office and had kept Rs 25 lakh in the boot of his car. He told Chavan about the money and asked him to be in the car all through. But when he returned half an hour later, Chavan had vanished with the cash and the car. His phone was switched off. Police said Chavan had stolen another Rs 75 lakh from the builder’s office. He abandoned the car at Jogeshwari and took an autorickshaw. He got out of the auto at Hub Mall, Goregaon — a location not covered by cameras.
A police team visited his Ghansoli home but he was not there. “We learnt his wife had picked up their son early from school. No calls were made using his number which indicated he had discarded his handset,” said an officer.After quizzing his relatives, police learnt that he had a close female friend. Her brother-in-law, Pradip Yadav, told officers that Chavan had sought his help to count Rs 1 crore. “Chavan got Yadav to buy a new phone and SIM card. He used the phone which was registered in Yadav’s name. He got Yadav to rent a car and ferry him to Alandi where he stayed at a guest house. Chavan used Yadav’s Aadhaar card to check in at the guest house, leaving no clues behind,” said an investigator. At Alandi, he kept Rs 50 lakh with a relative and moved to Akola.
By now the police were trailing him. At Akola, he wanted to leave some cash with a cousin who refused to touch the money. He was eventually arrested with Rs 36 lakh. Police also traced an auto driver, Amit Shingte, with whom Chavan had left Rs 10 lakh. Shingte had deposited Rs 1.3 lakh in two cooperative credit societies on Chavan’s instructions. “He was nabbed under supervision of DCP Krishnakant Upadhyaya,” said senior inspector Mohan Patil.
The theft was reported on October 11.The developer was headed to a government office and had kept Rs 25 lakh in the boot of his car. He told Chavan about the money and asked him to be in the car all through. But when he returned half an hour later, Chavan had vanished with the cash and the car. His phone was switched off. Police said Chavan had stolen another Rs 75 lakh from the builder’s office. He abandoned the car at Jogeshwari and took an autorickshaw. He got out of the auto at Hub Mall, Goregaon — a location not covered by cameras.
A police team visited his Ghansoli home but he was not there. “We learnt his wife had picked up their son early from school. No calls were made using his number which indicated he had discarded his handset,” said an officer.After quizzing his relatives, police learnt that he had a close female friend. Her brother-in-law, Pradip Yadav, told officers that Chavan had sought his help to count Rs 1 crore. “Chavan got Yadav to buy a new phone and SIM card. He used the phone which was registered in Yadav’s name. He got Yadav to rent a car and ferry him to Alandi where he stayed at a guest house. Chavan used Yadav’s Aadhaar card to check in at the guest house, leaving no clues behind,” said an investigator. At Alandi, he kept Rs 50 lakh with a relative and moved to Akola.
By now the police were trailing him. At Akola, he wanted to leave some cash with a cousin who refused to touch the money. He was eventually arrested with Rs 36 lakh. Police also traced an auto driver, Amit Shingte, with whom Chavan had left Rs 10 lakh. Shingte had deposited Rs 1.3 lakh in two cooperative credit societies on Chavan’s instructions. “He was nabbed under supervision of DCP Krishnakant Upadhyaya,” said senior inspector Mohan Patil.
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