Police likely to invoke MCOCA in robbery at Cafe Mysore owner’s home

MUMBAI: Police are likely to invoke the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in the case of robbery at Cafe Mysore owner Naresh Nayak’s home in Sion as the main accused has several cases registered against him. The amount involved in the May 13 robbery has also increased from ₹25 lakh to ₹72 lakh in addition to four gold coins, said police.

“According to an additional statement by Nayak, the amount of robbery has gone up from ₹25 lakh to ₹72 lakh. He has also told us four gold coins valued at ₹4.5 lakh have gone missing,” said a police officer.

The police are checking if MCOCA can be applied in the case as the main accused, Premchand Jaiswal, is implicated in several cases at the LT Marg and Santacruz police stations. “He has filed for anticipatory bail, but we are searching for him as he has not been given any relief from the courts,” said the officer.

On May 13, six persons including Jaiswal barged into the Sion house of Nayak, 44, claiming they were Mumbai crime branch officers. They told Nayak that they had information about black money for the Lok Sabha polls being stocked in the house and undertook a search, fleeing with ₹25 lakh cash Nayak had kept for hotel transactions.

After Nayak complained to the police, a team under DCP Prashant Kadam of zone IV traced the accused. They found that Jaiswal, a former manager with Mysore Cafe, had tipped off the other accused, claiming ₹17 crore kept at Nayak’s home. CCTV footage of the incident showed a police jeep was used in the crime, which led the team to Babasaheb Bhagwat, 50, a police constable attached with the motor vehicles (MV) department. Bhagwat was picked up from Kurla West and he led the team to Dinkar Salvi, 60, a retired police constable, who was apprehended from Nehru Nagar in Kurla East, said a police officer. The police jeep used in the crime was also seized, he said.

Police subsequently arrested six persons who were allegedly involved in the robbery – they included Sagar Redekar, 42, from Lower Parel; Vasant Nayak, 52, from Lower Parel; Shyam Gaikwad, 50, from Byculla; Niraj Khandagale, 34, from Govandi; Ajit Apraj, 50, from Goregaon; and Hiren Waghela, 40, from Mumbai Central.

The Sion police have already booked the accused under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 170 (personating a public servant), 395 (dacoity), 420 (cheating), 452 (house-trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.