22-05-2025
How ‘dacoits' in Gujarat caused accident to loot Rs 90 lakh from angadia firm owner
On Wednesday evening, a 45-year-old businessman, who runs an angadia firm in Rajkot city, left his office with Rs 90 lakh in cash, which were to be paid to various people in Morbi.
Around 4.15 pm, the trader, Nilesh Mansukh Bhalodi, noticed that a white hatchback car without a registration plate was following him, according to an FIR.
An alarmed Bhalodi asked his driver Jaysukh Sundarji Fefar to move faster. However, the vehicle behind caught up with them and attempted to drive their car off the road, the FIR added. Bhalodi asked the driver to stop the car.
What Bhalodi didn't know was that behind the car following him was another car. Soon, he found his car flanked by both the vehicles. Around five to seven people filed out from the two cars and, with sticks and rods, began attacking Bhalodi's car. One of the men even drew out a knife, the FIR stated.
At this point, Bhalodi asked his driver to restart the vehicle and drive off towards Morbi.
As Bhalodi's car reached near Khajura resort, one of the pursuing vehicles slammed it from behind, the FIR said. Realising that one of the tyres had burst, Bhalodi and Fefar turned the car into the resort and got down to check the damage.
But as the other two cars closed in, Bhalodi and Fefar ran towards a nearby shop to escape, leaving their car behind. At this point, the men in the other two cars pulled out the two bags filled with Rs 90 lakh in cash from Bhalodi's car, said the FIR.
With one of the cars damaged after hitting Bhalodi's vehicle, all the accused got into the other car and strode off with the money.
Bhalodi immediately called the police, which set up a blockade across Morbi, the highways nearby and bordering districts.
The FIR was filed at Tankara police station of Morbi, where unknown persons were booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 310(2) (dacoity), and 324(4) (mischief), as well as Gujarat Police Act Section 135.
Morbi Superintendent of Police (SP) Rahul Tripathi told The Indian Express on Thursday that after the dacoity, while all the accused had piled into one car and headed to Morbi, along the way, five had alighted from the vehicle while two of the accused drove it into the town.
These two were arrested with Rs 72.5 lakh cash.
Efforts are underway to apprehend the other members of the alleged gang and recover the remaining Rs 17.5 lakh cash, said police.
The Angadia system is a century-old parallel banking system where traders send cash, generally from one state to another, through a person called Angadia that stands for courier.
