Nagpur: Four traders allegedly robbed an onion-laden truck after thrashing its driver and helper on Samruddhi Expressway between Mehkar and Dongaon in Buldhana district in the early hours of Saturday. State Highway Police nabbed the accused within an hour after they fled towards Washim district.
Dongaon police registered a case of robbery against Tejas Dhomse (20), Vishwajeet Dhomse (30) and Gaurav Pansare (29), all residents of Nashik, and Anshu Das (32), a resident of West Bengal. Police said the truck, bearing a Chhattisgarh registration number, had been issued a no-parking violation notice in Washim barely 10 minutes before the wireless message was circulated.
Police said all the four accused are traders. They also attacked the helper, who managed to flee the spot, said police. PI of Dongaon police station Ganesh Ingole said the quick sharing of information helped police track the vehicle. State Highway Police personnel were alerted and they detained the accused and the vehicle,” he said.
They were produced before a court, which remanded them in four-day police custody. As per police, the truck was carrying onions from Nashik to Jharkhand. Police suspect that the accused must have been following the truck from Nashik as they too had bought a consignment from there. The accused then assaulted the truck driver, Miraz Ahmed, leaving him unconscious. The accused then sped away with the truck towards Washim. After regaining consciousness, Ahmed hitchhiked on another vehicle and reached the nearest petrol pump, where he informed police. Dongaon police alerted other units and circulated details of the truck and vehicle of the accused over the wireless network. “We learnt that the truck had got off the expressway through Malegaon toll naka. The information helped the state highway police team establish the truck’s recent movement and alert personnel in the area. The highway police subsequently intercepted the car allegedly used by the accused. The truck and the accused were handed over to Dongaon police for further investigation.