Mumbai: LT Marg Police have recently arrested a gang of six thieves for targeting senior citizens in the city. The gang used a bicycle for thefts. With their arrest, police have solved six cases.
The accused are identified as Mohammad Taufik Maniyar 34, Mohamad Zeeshan Khan, 28, Jahid Khan, 40, Nadim Nawab Hussain, 39, Mohammad Anwar Ansari, 39 and Mushahid Qureshi, 25. They have confessed to their involvement in two cases in LT Marg, two in Kurla and one each from VP Road and Pydhonie.
According to LT Marg Police, the men are natives of Uttar Pradesh and visited Mumbai just to commit theft. They would come to town for a fortnight and after stealing from several people, would return home. The gang would first identify its target, mostly well-dressed senior citizens.
Their modus operandi was as follows: One of them would be riding a bicycle and collide into the intended victim. While the latter was recovering from the impact, other members of the gang would surround him and another would use this cover to grab the valuables and then they would all flee the spot. Six such cases were reported in the city in the last few months. In January, a 58-year-old man carrying Rs 1.70 lakh was robbed by this gang in Kalbadevi, and a few days later, another lost Rs 70,000 to this gang in the same area.
After analysing closed circuit television (CCTV) footage of the area, police gathered data of cellphones that were active at the crime scene and managed to obtain the phone number of one of the accused. While tracking their mobile numbers, police learnt that the accused had returned to the city and were staying at a hotel in Dharavi. Accordingly, police raided the hotel and arrested all six men.
