Ernakulam Rural: Eighteen years after a gold theft case, a team of Kerala police traveled to Mumbai to apprehend the accused. They identified a gold merchant, the owner of four jewelry stores, who was living in a luxurious bungalow. Despite facing threats from gangsters, the police bravely arrested him and brought him back to Kerala. In 2006, Mahindra Hashba Yadav was arrested by the Ernakulam Rural Police from Mulund, Mumbai, for stealing 240 grams of gold from a jewelry shop in Muvattupuzha and a sum of money.
A special investigation team was dispatched to Mumbai after the jeweler’s owner filed a complaint in the New Kerala court. Initially, Yadav attempted to negotiate his release by offering double the amount of stolen gold. Mahindra Yadav, who had been a trusted goldsmith in the jeweler’s shop, had lived in Muvattupuzha with his family for 15 years. After taking the gold for purification in 2006, he never returned it. He borrowed one and a half lakh rupees from a friend in Muvattupuzha and fled with his family.
At the time, the police searched for him in his hometown of Sangli, Maharashtra, but were unsuccessful. However, during a recent investigation, the special team discovered his whereabouts in Mumbai. Despite the challenges of arresting him in an affluent area, they carried out a successful operation early in the morning. After being apprehended, Yadav was brought back to Pune airport, evading his gang. The re-investigation was overseen by Ernakulam Rural District Police Chief Vaibhav Saxena. The arresting team included Muvattupuzha DySP PM Baiju, Inspector Basil Thomas, Sub-Inspectors Mahin Salim, Vishnu Raju, KK Rajesh, PK Vinas, PC Jayakumar, and Senior Civil Police Officers KA Anas and Bibil Mohan. Yadav was presented in court and remanded for 14 days.
