The central unit of the Crime Branch of Navi Mumbai arrested three persons and claimed to have solved the burglary of a mobile shop in Kharghar wherein mobiles and cash worth Rs 50 lakh were stolen. The burglars had also destroyed the recording of the CCTV cameras of the shop. The police also recovered goods worth Rs 45 lakh.
The Crime Branch official said that they are professional burglars and they have involved in around 26 cases of burglary and house-breakings.
The Kharghar police had registered an FIR on September 30 after a mobile shop’s shutter was cut and goods and cash worth Rs 50 was stolen.
While the Kharghar police were already carrying out the investigation, the central unit of the Crime Branch carried a parallel investigation. “Despite there was no clue even the CCTV recording was destroyed, the team caught three main accused from Mumbai,” said the newly appointed commissioner of police Bipin Kumar Singh.
Suresh Mengde, deputy commissioner of police, Special Branch said that they are professional burglars and they are involved in several crimes. “They used a very sophisticated gas cutter to cut the shutter for minimum sound and also destroyed most of the evidence,” said Mengde. He added that police had also recovered the taxi which was used for the robbery. “They had stolen the taxi from Kurla,” said Mengde.
The arrested accused have been identified as Shafiqullah alias Sonu Atiqullah, 24, a resident of Labour Camp Matunga and native of Uttar Pradesh, Ayan alias Nisar alias Bittu Rafi Ahmad Shaikh, 28, a resident of Dharavi and native of Sitamarhi in Bihar and Imran Ansari, 25, a resident of Palghar. Police said that Ansari has involved in around 17 burglaries and house-breakings cases.
Singh said that there might be more persons in the gang as supplying such huge stolen items cannot be managed by only three persons. “We are also investigating who were taking these stolen items from them as they are habitual offenders,” added Singh.
