Rajkot, Oct 16 (IANS) Ten people have been arrested in connection with the robbery and murder of a refinery manager in Gujarat’s Rajkot city, with police recovering the stolen gold and silver worth Rs 1.53 crore within hours of the crime, officials said on Friday.
The incident took place at around 8 p.m. on October 14 at the refinery of Tanvi Export India Limited on Aji GIDC Main Road, opposite Bavishi Way Bridge, under the jurisdiction of Thorala police station.
The victim and the firm’s manager, Lalajibhai Sardhara, were carrying a bag containing refined gold bars weighing around 946 grams, valued at Rs 1.489 crore, and approximately two kg of refined silver dust powder worth Rs 4.3 lakh.
The total value of the precious metals was estimated at Rs 1.532 crore. Sardhara was leaving the refinery and preparing to ride his two-wheeler to the company’s nearby showroom when four men arrived in a car.
Two of them got out and attempted to snatch the bag. When Sardhara and security guard Bavanji Padhiyar resisted, one of the assailants fired three rounds at the manager, seriously injuring him.
The accused fled with the bag, and Sardhara subsequently died. Following the incident, teams from the city Crime Branch, Special Operations Group (SOG), Local Crime Branch (LCB), Zone 1, and Thorala police station were deployed to identify the accused and recover the stolen property.
Investigators examined CCTV footage and used technical surveillance to trace the car allegedly used in the crime.
As the vehicle was found to have come from outside Gujarat, the police coordinated with their counterparts in Rajasthan and alerted police forces in several districts.
Acting on the information, Rajasthan Police intercepted the car at Janapur Circle in Sirohi district and apprehended four men. During questioning, investigators learnt that two other accused had allegedly fled with the stolen property in another car.
The car was subsequently intercepted by police in the Badgaon area of Udaipur district following coordination through the police control room. Further investigation led to the arrest of other alleged participants from Samakhiyali in Gujarat’s Kutch district.
The person suspected of providing information about the movement of the valuables was arrested in Rajkot, taking the total number of arrests to 10.
The police said the recovered property included the refined gold bars and silver dust, the two cars allegedly used in the crime, and eight mobile phones. The total value of the seized property was Rs 1,57,65,500.
The accused have been identified as Ashwinikumar alias Lankesh, Anuragsingh, Vishalsingh, Shivam Gupta, Vedant Kant alias Aman, Pawankumar, Arvind alias Neeraj, Shaileshkumar Kharwar, Ajitkumar Pandey and another accused named Shivam Pandey. Most of them are residents of Uttar Pradesh, while Shaileshkumar was residing in Rajkot.
According to the police, Shaileshkumar has a case registered against him at Palwal police station in Haryana under Sections 110, 333 and 351(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Officials cite records of previous arrests involving three of the accused.
Ajitkumar was arrested in an attempted murder case in Chandauli district in 2025, while Ashwinikumar was arrested in an attempted murder case in 2025 and two assault cases in 2018.
Anuragsingh had been arrested in a culpable homicide case registered at Bahariyabad police station in Uttar Pradesh. Further legal proceedings are under way.
–IANS
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