30 June,2026 01:02 PM IST | Palghar | mid-day online correspondent
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Police have arrested a history-sheeter for a botched robbery at a jewellery store in Maharashtra's Palghar district, where he threatened the shop owner using a plastic revolver, an official said on Tuesday, reported PTI.
The accused, Kannan Murugesh Thevar, was arrested within 48 hours of the crime, which took place in Nalasopara on the afternoon of June 25, the official said, reported PTI.
Thevar and his accomplice entered the jewellery shop in Nagindas Pada, Nalasopara East and threatened the owner with a plastic revolver in an attempt to steal gold jewellery, he said, reported PTI.
The police zeroed in on the accused within 48 hours of the crime and apprehended Thevar at Wadala in neighbouring Mumbai, the official said.
A probe revealed that Thevar is a habitual offender and was previously charged with robbery and booked under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), he said.
In another case, a senior woman advocate has been arrested for allegedly running a prostitution racket out of a hotel in Kalyan in Thane district, police said on Sunday, reported PTI.
Two women who had been forced into the flesh trade were rescued, they said.
The Anti-Human Trafficking Cell (AHTC) of the police busted the racket on Saturday and cops were investigating the extent of the hotel owner's involvement in the flesh trade, they said, reported PTI.
Following a raid on the hotel, police arrested the woman lawyer, the main accused in the case, who practices at both Kalyan and Panvel courts.
According to police, the AHTC had received inputs that an educated woman had been running a flesh trade for the past three months at a well-known hotel in Kalyan (East), exploiting needy and vulnerable women, reported PTI.
Based on this information, an AHTC team kept the hotel under close surveillance for several days. Officers visited the establishment undercover as regular customers, ordering tea and snacks to discreetly gather intelligence. During this period, they observed suspicious activities on the premises, said police, reported PTI.
On Saturday, the AHTC team decided to raid the establishment. A senior inspector of the AHTC from Thane, along with his team, arrived in Kalyan and coordinated with the local Kolshewadi Police.
After mapping out all possible escape routes around the hotel, the team set a trap by sending bogus customers inside and busted the racket, they said.
"We are currently investigating how long this advocate had been running the racket at the hotel, how many other women she has trapped into this business, who her accomplices are, and the extent of the hotel owner's involvement," said S G Naik, Inspector at the Kolshewadi Police Station, reported PTI.
An offence under BNS and the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act has been registered against the accused.
(With inputs from PTI)
