Vasai heist: No leads after 100 hours as no CCTV footage is available

Police examining the scene of the crime. Pics/Hanif Patel

Investigation into the Rs 80 lakh heist at gun-point at a jewellery store in Vasai has come to a standstill, as the absence of CCTV cameras in the Vasai-Virar area has hindered the police's efforts to gather crucial evidence. It's been more than 100 hours but the armed robbers, who had covered their faces under helmets, face masks and hoodies, are still at large. The duo decamped with the valuables on their getaway motorcycle, whose number plates are not legible. The accused were last seen near a park in Sun City, Vasai.

Robbers using the same route before and after the heist in Vasai on Friday night

Though a few CCTV cameras helped the investigating team to trace the route that the robbers took, but probe was halted because a CCTV camera installed at a civic-operated park in Sun City, Vasai is lying dysfunctional. "After committing the theft, both the robbers took the same route they took to reach the jewellery shop. Since it was late at night, the headlamps blurred the footage and the number plates of the motorcycles are not legible," said a police officer.

"It seems that the robbers had studied the escape route properly before committing the offence. They reached the Sun City area but they became untraceable beyond a point where VVCMC-operated CCTV cameras are not working," said a police officer privy to the investigation. Another senior officer at Mira Bhayandar Vasai Virar (MBVV) police told mid-day that on the pretext of beautification work, the civic officials removed multiple electric poles where CCTV cameras were installed.

One of the robbers captured on CCTV

"These electric poles were removed only to install fountains at multiple circles in Vasai, Virar, Nalasopara and Naigaon areas," said a senior police officer requesting anonymity. "Our detection officers have been facing a lot of difficulties because the surveillance equipment has been carelessly removed. Many inspectors have written to the Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC) officials to re-install the CCTV cameras which they removed in the name of beautification work. But our requests are falling on deaf ears of babus," said the officer.

Before the formation of the MBVV police commissionerate, the then Additional Superintendent of Palghar Police, Vijaykanth Sagar had requested citizens, housing societies and businessmen to install at least one CCTV camera to survey the city. Hundreds of CCTV cameras were installed, said a senior police officer, adding, "The control rooms for these private CCTV cameras were kept either in housing societies, businessmen's offices, dhabas, hotels, etc and the expenses were contributed by local people or businessmen."

Installation at Fire Brigade Evershine that resulted in the removal of CCTV cameras

"Many people had contributed and multiple CCTV cameras were installed at all the major points, chowks, important stretches, market place, streets, around housing societies, and other prominent places. But the beautification work of VVCMC dismantled everything and more than 500 CCTV cameras were removed," said another senior police officer.

Friday incident

A 68-year-old Ratanlal Singhvi was shutting down his jewellery shop on Friday night when two armed men entered the shop and aimed a pistol at him. "My father resisted and tried to shout for help but one of them assaulted him using the butt of the pistol on his head. He was pushed inside the safe where all the jewellery was kept. One of the robbers had cornered my father and his accomplice was putting jewellery in a sack," said Abhilesh Singhvi, the son of the elderly man.

Initially, we thought that we had lost Rs 40 lakh jewellery, but the final calculation was astonishingly higher," Singhvi said. "My father, who was administered nine stitches to his head, is still in deep shock following the incident," he added. "It has been more than four days and the cops are yet to solve the case. We don't know who these robbers are," said Singhvi.

"The safety and security of citizens are very important and CCTV plays a vital role. The responsible citizens and businessmen helped the police install the CCTV cameras in the Vasai-Virar area. But the cops are yet to solve the case," he added. The queries related to reinstallation of CCTV cameras were sent to VVCMC commissioner Anil Kumar Pawar and the calls made to him went unanswered by the press time.