ASI accused in Rs 14-crore theft case held after 4 yrs

Kolhapur: The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) investigating the case of multiple-thefts case, involving Rs 14 crore, arrested Sharad Kurlupkar, an assistant sub-inspector who had been on the run over the past four years. Police picked him from Waghbil, when he was trying to get into Panhala taluka.

A total of seven police officials, including two officers, were involved in the theft and all, barring one, had been arrested. The policemen attached with the Sangli police station were allegedly involved in cash thefts from a builder’s office in Warnanagar in March 2016. Builder Zunjar Sarnobat had claimed that Rs 14 crore were stolen from his office in separate incidents.

Kurlupkar was presented before the local court through video conferencing and the court sent him to police custody up to May 8.

Dinesh Bar, Kolhapur superintendent of police, CID, said, “When the lockdown was imposed, we suspected that the culprits on run may come out from their hideouts. Therefore, we had issued instructions to our team to increase vigilance. Our team received information from sources that Kurlupkar would come to the Waghbil area, and nabbed him.”

“The initial investigation suggests that Kurlupkar was staying in Karnataka and Goa, where he is suspected to have purchased properties with the stolen money. We are investigating the case and will gather more information about the crime,” he said.

The multiple thefts took place in March 2016, when one of the accused in the case, Mainuddin Mulla, along with his three accomplices, allegedly broke into the office of Kolhapur-based builder Sarnobat on March 8 and stole Rs 6 crore. Mulla was arrested by Sangli police on March 11. They brought only Rs 3 crore on record. After that, this a team of Sangli policemen visited Sarnobat’s office and allegedly took Rs 3 crore from the office. Later, Sarnobat lodged a complaint with Kolhapur police stating that a total Rs 14 crore were stolen from his office.

The case was transferred to CID for investigation and seven police officials, who were involved in the crime, were suspended. CID officials managed to arrest six accused police officials immediately. Kurlupkar on Friday night.