The Crime Branch Unit 2 of Navi Mumbai police arrested Minu alias Alauddin Nesu Mohammad Shaikh, 40, a native of Malda town in West Bengal, last week. He was wanted for a Rs 40 lakh jewellery theft in Nerul in 2018. Shaikh, who was giving police the slip for the last four years, was arrested from Koparkhairane when he came to the city in search of work, said police.
Based on a tip-off that Shaikh was in the Koparkhairane area, Unit 2 of the Crime Branch under the guidance of Senior Police Inspector Ravindra Patil nabbed Shaikh on Saturday. During interrogation, he confessed his involvement in the robbery. He is in the custody of Nerul police, further investigation is on.
Shaikh, along with six others had looted jewellery worth Rs 40 lakh from a jeweller in October 2018, police said. They followed the jeweller from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus to Nerul and attacked him while he was walking along the road and fled with the jewellery he was carrying. While Shaikh’s accomplices were nabbed and jewellery worth Rs 13 lakh recovered, he and another accomplice were absconding.
Malik Usman Gani Shaikh, the other absconding accomplice was arrested recently while Shaikh, the mastermind, was still at large. According to police, after Malik’s arrest, Shaikh fled to his native in Malda Town in West Bengal and has been evasive ever since.
Senior Inspector Ravindra Patil said that the accused was on a run for the last four years. “He thought after four years, the police might have stopped searching for him,” said Patil, adding that he kept changing places during these years. Whether he returned to the city in search of a job or to commit crime, will be clear only after investigation, said Patil.
Malda, hotbed for criminals
Malda district in West Bengal is situated along the river Ganga which separates it from Jharkhand, Notorious criminals often take advantage of it. They cross the river after committing a crime and with changes in state jurisdiction, they get the time to escape. The district has hundreds of acres under secret narcotics cultivation guarded by local miscreants. The district is also notorious for fake currency rackets.
