Mumbai: NGO chief-led gang loots Rs 7cr during lockdown, held

Mumbai, Apr 28 () The chief of an NGO who gotpermission to move around in the coronavirus-induced lockdownto distribute food has been arrested for allegedly assemblinga gang and robbing a jewellery story in Andheri in Mumbai ofornaments worth Rs 7 crore, police said on Tuesday.

Vipul Ananda Chambriya (35), president of the city-based Ekta Foundation, was arrested along with six others onMonday and loot worth Rs 5.30 crore has been recovered, saidZone X Deputy Commissioner of Police Ankit Goel.

"On April 22, amid the lockdown, Rajkumar Luthra fileda complaint that his jewellery shop had been broken intothrough the roof using a gas cutter and ornaments worth Rs 7crore were stolen," an MIDC police station official said.

"Three teams were made and after interrogating severalpeople who may have been in the vicinity, we zeroed in onChambriya. He had permission to distribute food to the needyduring lockdown. After collecting information about the shop,he brought in six accomplices, including four who work in hisNGO, and robbed the shop," he added.

The MIDC police official identified the others whohave been arrested as shop stock holder Desman ChotalalChohan, security guard Munna Khairwar, and Chambriya's NGOstaff Laxman Narsappa Dandu, Shankar Kumar Yeshu, RajeshMarpakka and VIkas Chanwadi. ZABNM BNM