The crime branch unit- Zone II attached to the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) Police Commissionerate busted a notorious gang involved in mobile snatching from shirt pockets of bikers riding on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway. The police have also recovered 10 mobile phones and seized three bikes which were used in the crime.
Alarmed by the sudden rise in mobile snatching cases in the region, the crime branch team led by Police Inspector Shahuraj Ranawre under the supervision of DCP (crime) Dr Mahesh Patil, activated their informer network and gathered information about history-sheeters involved in crimes using a similar modus-operandi.
Acting on a tip-off, the team zeroed in on the accused identified as Abdul Mufeed Khan (33), Harshad Ali Syed (24), Kamrudding Qureshi (23), Adnan Shaikh (20) and Arbaj Iliyaz Ansari (21).
However, one of their accomplices is still absconding, said the police.
Apart from targeting pedestrians who were busy talking on the phone, the gang members would lookout motorcycle riders who keep their mobile phones in their shirt pockets for easy access, they would then ride parallel to the motorcyclist for a while before snatching their phone and speeding away, the police said.
Not ruling out the gang’s involvement in more cases, an official said, “Investigations, so far, have revealed their involvement in eight mobile snatching cases committed by the gang in the jurisdiction of the Valiv police station in Vasai in the past couple of months”.
A case under section 392 has been registered against the accused who have been remanded to custody. Further investigations are underway.
