Surat, June 3: The Surat Crime Branch has arrested the third main accused in a robbery case involving ₹5 million at the State Bank of India (SBI) branch in Varachha. This incident was orchestrated from Beur Jail in Patna.
During a press briefing, Additional CP Karan Raj Vaghela stated, “On April 27, six armed assailants executed the robbery at the SBI branch in Varachha, making off with over ₹5 million. Immediately after the incident, a joint investigation was launched by the Surat City Police, Zone-1 Police, Local Crime Branch, and local police teams.”
He explained that the investigation involved reviewing over 1,000 CCTV footages and utilizing both technical and human intelligence. During the probe, two suspects, Shubham Thakur and Vikas Rajput, were apprehended in Ayodhya and Gonda districts of Uttar Pradesh. The police identified Kundan Bhagat as the mastermind behind the robbery, who is currently incarcerated in Beur Jail. Bhagat is also believed to be the main accused in a ₹140 million Reliance Jewelry heist in Uttarakhand.
Additional CP Karan Raj Vaghela confirmed that the Surat police arrested the main accused, Manteesh alias Mukesh Kumar, in the Birti Bazaar Chowk area of East Champaran (Motihari) district in Bihar. The accused was attempting to flee to Nepal. Furthermore, Kundan Bhagat, while in jail, had plotted the Varachha robbery. Manteesh alias Mukesh Kumar is considered a key member of this gang. The police are now actively searching for other suspects to dismantle the entire network.
He added that further actions will be taken once the relationships among all accused and the complete robbery plan are revealed. Some portions of the stolen money have also been recovered. The swift action by Surat police has been commended.
The Surat police achieved significant success by apprehending main accused Manteesh alias Mukesh Kumar from Bihar’s East Champaran (Motihari) district.
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S.A.K/D.K.P
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