Sanand police bust gang that robbed elderly men at knifepoint after luring them into CNG rickshaw, 4 held

The Sanand police have arrested a gang of four persons three men and one woman who had been systematically targeting and robbing senior citizens by luring them into a CNG rickshaw under the guise of being fellow passengers, before assaulting them and fleeing with their valuables, officials said on Friday.

The arrests were made within days of the most recent incident, in which an elderly man was attacked with a knife and a hammer on Bavla Road in Sanand and robbed of four gold buttons worth ₹1 lakh that had been pinned to his shirt.

Property worth ₹3.1 lakh  has been recovered from the accused.

According to the police, the gang's modus operandi involved cruising residential and semi-urban areas in a CNG rickshaw, with one accused posing as the driver and another as a passenger. Upon spotting a senior citizen walking alone, one of the accused would persuade the victim to sit in the rickshaw, ostensibly offering a ride. Once inside, the remaining gang members would brandish a knife, threaten and assault the victim, snatch valuables particularly gold ornaments and flee the scene in the same vehicle.

The case that triggered the investigation was registered at Sanand Police Station on March 31, under Sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023.

As per the complaint, the victim had been walking towards his house on Bavla Road when the accused accosted him and persuaded him to board their CNG rickshaw. Once seated, two of the accused, one brandished a knife and the other struck the complainant on his face with a hammer, causing injuries. The gang then snatched four gold buttons, each weighing approximately one tola, collectively valued at ₹1lakh, which had been pinned to the victim's shirt, before speeding away.

Police Inspector B.T. Gohil, who registered the case at Sanand Police Station, immediately constituted separate surveillance squad teams and deployed both human intelligence and technical resources to track down the suspects. Acting on specific information received, a team swiftly identified and apprehended the four accused within days of the offence.

The four arrested persons have been identified as

- Prakash alias Mangabhai Patni (Poptawala), 44, resident of Meghaninagar, Ahmedabad.

- Dilip Devubhai Jakhwadia, 40, resident of Vastral, Ahmedabad.

- Vijaybhai Fuljibhai Patni, 50, resident of Saraspur, Ahmedabad.

- Punamben Jandavda (Bavari), 36, resident of Sardarnagar, Ahmedabad.

The police have seized the, four Gold buttons (one tola each) worth ₹1lakh, CNG rickshaw worth ₹2lakh, five mobile phones worth 11,500, one knife a total ₹3.11lakh worth valuables were recovered.

During interrogation, the accused confessed to having committed a similar robbery in the Bavla Post Office area, where they had decamped with ₹12,000 in cash from another victim using the same modus operandi, the police said.

Investigations have revealed that the prime accused, Prakash alias Jadiyo, is a habitual offender with as many as 18 criminal cases registered against him across multiple police stations in Gujarat, 

Accused Dilip Jakhwadia has three prior cases registered against him, whilst the female accused, Punamben Jandavda, has two prior cases, all pertaining to theft and related offences.