Almost a month after the Apna Sahkari Bank at Naigaum was looted of Rs 28 lakh by armed robbers, the Bhoiwada police claimed they were close to solving the case and were tracking two phone numbers suspected to be of the accused.

As per the Bhoiwada police officials, the major clues in the case so far were found from the stolen car that was abandoned by robbers after the heist.

“After driving away with the booty, the robbers abandoned the car under a foot over-bridge near the Acharya Dhonde Marg in Parel. Inside the car, we found two Marathi newspapers of May 15 and two mobile phone numbers were scribbled on them,” said an official from the police station.

The police officials then conducted a survey of the mobile towers in the vicinity of the bank and sought the help of the service providers in the case.

“The tower information confirmed that these numbers were active on the day of the robbery in the area where the bank is located. The day after the heist, both the phones were detected to be out of city limits and since then for most part of the day they remain switched off. However, we have noticed a pattern that the phone is active only between 2 am and 4 am. We are contemplating the future course of action as we do not want to hurry into anything,” said the official.

The police also seem confident that despite being unsuccessful in tracing the robbers and the stolen money so far, they will be able to recover at least some of it — either in cash or property.

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