It could’ve been a scene straight out of a gritty noir thriller — a highway, a bus heavy with valuables worth crores, and a gang of desperados led by a history sheeter. But before fiction could bleed into reality, the city’s crime branch turned the page.
In a meticulously executed operation, Surat’s Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) foiled a plot to hijack a Shriram Travels bus carrying angadia workers — traditional transporters of high-value goods like diamonds, gold, and cash — and arrested six individuals, including a policeman moonlighting as a criminal.
The gang — a mix of seasoned criminals and insiders with knowledge of diamond trade — had spent two months plotting in the shadows, holed up in a rented flat in Kadodara. Their target: a nightly bus route known in certain circles not just for passengers, but for parcels worth Rs 5 crore on an average trip.
Among the arrested was Rajesh Parmar, a man with the kind of résumé that reads like a plot twist — ex-armyman, gold theft accused, and now a serving police guard in Madhya Pradesh’s Sheopur Jail. He had met the alleged mastermind, James Almeida, behind bars. Almeida, a name that sends ripples through police files, is wanted in 14 cases and linked to over 20 serious crimes.
The gang planned to board the bus as passengers between Kamrej and Vadodara, then strike under the cover of night. But officers were already watching. Acting on a tip-off, sleuths moved in before the gang could make their move — recovering firearms, chilli spray, rainbow knives, maps, and a handwritten notebook detailing escape routes.
The police who, according to media reports, seized three pistols, a country-made revolver, 42 cartridges and an extra magazine, told media outlets that on average, this bus carries valuables worth Rs 5 crore when ferrying passengers from Saurashtra from Surat. The Police seized three pistols, a country-made revolver, 42 cartridges and an extra magazine, according to reports. Hunt is on for the other eight suspected in the case.
Surat commissioner of police Anupam Singh Gahlaut told a national newspaper, “Surat crime branch succeeded in avoiding a major robbery and hijacking incident. We have arrested six people who were planning a robbery for the last two months while living in a rented apartment in Kadodara.
“The mastermind is one James Almeida, who has 20 serious crimes registered against him and is wanted for 14 crimes. Another accused person is Rajesh Parmar, a policeman working as a police guard at Sheopur Jail in Madhya Pradesh. Parmar is an ex-armyman and had met Almeida in Taloja jail after being arrested for the theft of 20kg of gold. The other four persons arrested are Salauddin Shaikh, Raees Khan, Udayveer Singh Tomar and Vijay Menbansi. Tomar provided tips as he was associated with the diamond business and would do small-time trading in Morena, MP.”
He added, “We seized four firearms from the accused with live cartridges. The accused had planned to hijack a Shriram Travels bus transporting angadia workers who would be carrying valuables. According to the plan, eight other accused persons were supposed to board the bus with weapons so the bus could be hijacked and the valuables stolen. On average, the bus carries valuables worth Rs 5 crore on each trip.”
Parmar had meticulously planned the operation, drawing various exit plans. Dispersing in different directions after the robbery was part of the plan. They wanted to declare the bus hijacked between Kamrej and Vadodara and escape to MP and Maharashtra in cars which were supposed to follow the bus. The police however got recordings of their plans and their scouting from the phones seized.
According to police, Almeida and other the accused have a record of firing on police and other crimes. A senior police officer told the daily, “If they had hijacked the bus, the people on the bus could have opposed them. This could have led to a struggle and the accused may have fired on the passengers. We decided to step in to avoid possible casualties.”
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