Three men, including a recent aeronautical engineering graduate linked to various theft cases, were arrested in Gujarat after an attempted robbery at a jewelry store. The shop owner was shot during the incident.
An ex-intern with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), allegedly linked to multiple thefts, was among three men arrested in an attempted robbery at a jewellery shop in Gujarat’s Navsari. The accused, identified as 25-year-old Umang Vachhani, along with Rajnikant Makwana (39) and Manoj Survyavanshi (23), all from Valsad, were nabbed by joint teams of the Local Crime Branch (LCB), Special Operations Group (SOG), cybercrime unit and Bilimora police. An aeronautical engineering graduate, Vachhani is suspected to have been involved in at least 11 heists since 2023.
According to the police, Vachhani and Makwana entered Chanchal Jewellers to execute the robbery, while Survyavanshi remained stationed in a car outside. The plan collapsed when shop owner Ashok Katariya resisted and raised an alarm. During their escape, Vachhani allegedly opened fire, shooting Katariya twice and leaving him injured, TOI reported.
Navsari superintendent of police Rahul Patel told TOI that officials examined nearly 300 CCTV cameras to track the suspects. The getaway vehicle was traced to an industrial zone in Chikhli, which eventually led police to the trio in Valsad. The accused had attempted to evade capture by removing the car’s number plate and abandoning it in a quarry.
ISRO intern linked to multiple heists
Vachhani had completed his aeronautical engineering degree from Silver Oak University in Ahmedabad in 2022 and later interned at ISRO’s Ahmedabad unit for seven months. He went on to work at a private aerospace firm toward the end of 2023, where he remained employed for about a year, according to the TOI report.
Despite his academic background, police said Vachhani had a criminal history and had been booked in 11 vehicle theft cases across Ahmedabad since 2023. These cases were registered at Satellite,Navrangpura, Ghatlodia, Vadaj, Gujarat University, and Vastrapur police stations. He was later detained under the PASA Act by the Ahmedabad police commissioner.
