The Unit III of the Navi Mumbai Crime Branch has arrested a gang of six that stole inflammable chemicals from a tanker at an isolated place in Mahape village.
The accused have been identified as Avdhesh Krupashankar Yadav (37), Rajiv Devendra Rajbhar (27), Vijay Gupta (30), Dhananjay alias Chotu Sahdev Mehta (31), Sameer alias Sandeep Ramashankar Singh (27) and Mahesh Nandlal Kumar (21).
According to the police, the accused along with the driver used pilfer the chemical, Toluene, through a pipe into plastic drums at an isolated ground near Elvira Hotel in Mahape village.
Police Inspector Nandakumar Pinjan said, “We received information that some men had been stealing the chemical from tankers and storing it in plastic drums for further sale. We laid a trap and nabbed six of them. The chemical is highly inflammable and is mostly used as solvent in paints and thinners.”
During interrogation, the driver Kumar revealed that the chemical was being transported from Sanjay Chemical India Pvt Ltd in Trombay to a company in Mahad. According to the police, after stealing the chemical they sold it to a third party in Dombivali.
“We are trying to find the buyers of the stolen chemical,” Mr. Pinjan said. The police seized quantities of the chemical worth ₹24 lakh from eight drums. Yadav and Mehta have previous record of theft registered with Rabale MIDC police. All accused hail from Uttar Pradesh.
