The Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar crime branch police solved the dacoity case at the house of industrialist Santosh Laddha in Bajajnagar after 11 days. So far, the police have arrested five suspects in connection with the case, and one of the accused is a hotelier. The police have seized 1.75 kgs of gold and silver from the accused. However, the kingpin of the dacoity and three other accused are still at large, sources said.

Industrialist Santosh Laddha and his family had gone to the US for the graduation ceremony of his son on May 7. His driver, Sanjay Zalke, was taking care of the bungalow during their absence. On May 15, some unidentified dacoits entered the bungalow and stole around 5.5 kgs of gold and 32 kgs of silver, amounting to around Rs 6 crore. A case was registered with the Waluj MIDC police station.

The city police established nine squads to investigate the case, with each squad working separately. The crime branch team began the investigation and arrested one suspect from Wadgaon Kolhati, seizing around 1.5 kgs of gold from him.

Meanwhile, district guardian minister Sanjay Shirsat held a press conference on Sunday and stated that there has been a rise in dacoity incidents in the city and surrounding areas. He mentioned receiving complaints from residents that some officers in the police department are supporting the dacoits, leading to the increase in such incidents. Shirsat urged the police commissioner to look into the matter.