Pune police have arrested a 63-year-old man from Madhya Pradesh for allegedly drugging and robbing passengers on state transport buses, uncovering three similar cases in Pune, Nagpur and Gujarat. Police said they seized 30 sedative tablets and a gold bar valued at Rs 1.40 lakh from the accused.
The accused has been identified as Babu Bhurekhan, a resident of Rinigajagav in Mandsaur district, Madhya Pradesh. According to the Swargate police, he allegedly introduced himself to passengers, offered them food containing sedative tablets and stole their valuables after they became unconscious.
The Pune case was registered after a passenger travelling from Borivali to Swargate on a Shivshahi state transport bus on August 20 was allegedly drugged and robbed. Police said the accused introduced himself to the passenger using the false name Sanjay Agarwal before allegedly giving him tablets in food. The passenger later lost consciousness, and a 10-gram gold ring was allegedly stolen from his right hand.
The passenger’s son filed a complaint at Swargate police station. During the investigation, police examined CCTV footage from the bus, conducted technical analysis and used information from informants to identify the suspect. The investigation allegedly established that he was a habitual offender from Madhya Pradesh.
A police team subsequently detained Bhurekhan within the jurisdiction of the Mahakal police station in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh. During questioning, police said he disclosed his alleged involvement in similar robberies in Ramtek in Nagpur district and Dwarka in Gujarat. Cases have been registered against him in both locations, taking the total number of cases uncovered in the investigation to three, according to police.
Police said the accused allegedly used Alprax 0.5 tablets to render passengers unconscious. Two packets containing 15 tablets each were seized from him. Investigators also recovered a 10-gram gold bar allegedly made from the ring stolen in the Swargate case.
The arrest and recovery were carried out under the guidance of Additional Commissioner of Police Rajesh Bansode, Deputy Commissioner Milind Mohite and Assistant Commissioner Gajanan Pawar. Senior Police Inspector Yashwant Nikam, Police Inspector Vikas Bharmal, Pradeepsingh Sisodia, Assistant Police Inspector Swapnil Shelke, Police Sub-Inspector Balu Shirsat and the investigation team took part in the operation. Further investigation into the three cases is continuing.
