Police have stepped up surveillance across the expressway stretch passing through Nashik district.
Nashik: Nashik Rural police have launched 24×7 patrolling on the Samruddhi expressway after a daring highway robbery in which an armed gang allegedly looted a family of cash and jewellery worth nearly Rs 18 lakh. The Aug 27 robbery exposed fresh security concerns on the high-speed corridor. A lawyer from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar was travelling to Mumbai with his wife, two young children and a cousin when unidentified men allegedly scattered sharp objects on the road near Maldhon around 11.30pm, according to police. The gang allegedly assaulted family members, briefly held a two-year-old child hostage and robbed the occupants of cash, gold and silver ornaments, watches and other valuables worth about Rs 18 lakh.
Police said six to seven men then emerged from bushes and assaulted the driver, while another group attacked the vehicle from the opposite side. The victims also told police that another vehicle was targeted by the same gang shortly afterwards. “Patrolling was already in place, but it has now been intensified considerably,” Swami said.
Senior officers, including SP Swami and DSP KK Patil, visited the spot following the incident. Police have since stepped up surveillance across the expressway stretch passing through Nashik district. The enhanced security operation began on Saturday evening on the instructions of superintendent of police D S Swami, days after robbers struck along the expressway in Sinnar taluka.
The objects punctured the vehicle’s front tyre, forcing the family to stop on the roadside.