The stolen diamonds are worth Rs 24 lakh.
Mumbai: The arrest of four persons, including two policemen, by Borivali police in the Rs 24 lakh diamond theft case has led officials to one Raj, said to be an agent in diamond trading and the main conspirator in the case.
The police meanwhile made its fifth arrest in the case — that of Yogesh Lad, who is accomplice of the accused arrested earlier and considered close to Raj. Police custody of all five accused was extended till Tuesday after which they were produced in a local court.
All five used to work at the behest of Raj and pose as customers and policemen. Those arrested have been identified as Chandrakant Gavare and Santosh Gavas (both policemen attached to the local arms division of Mumbai police); and Sunita Gaurkar and Pranay Shah, both of whom would pose as customers. The police said fake raids were conducted to make easy money. Gavare and Gavas used to conduct fake raids when the accused were in the process of striking a deal, and the jeweller would then be taken into custody with the duo claiming to take him to a police station. Gunaji Sawant, senior inspector, Borivali police station, said, “Raj would hatch the plan and Gaurkar and Shah would land at the concerned shop posing as customers wanting to strike a diamond deal. At the same time, Gavare and Gavas would conduct raids.”
The gang was operating since a while and the police suspects it tried its luck at other jewellery stores as well. Sawant said, "We are focusing on Raj as he is the main conspirator. The accused however are not revealing his identity (complete name) and hence, it is difficult to get his antecedents.”
The police added that it had demanded further custody of the accused as they were not revealing much about their modus operandi and past crimes, if any.
