The crime branch unit (zone III) attached to the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) police claim to have busted the Nakli Gaddi gang which had earned notoriety for cheating people who approached banks to deposit money. The gang gets its name Nakli Gaddi - with which they would fool a depositor and decamp with his money. Three members of the gang who had recently cheated a 21-year-old construction worker to the tune of ₹76,000 have been arrested. After a spurt in similar cases of frauds in the region, the crime branch unit led by police inspector Pramod Badhakh started investigations.
Police team used CCTV footage to apprehend suspects
Using closed circuit television (CCTV) footage in and around the bank premises and possible getaway routes, along with informer network, the team apprehended the accused identified as Mushtaq Ahmed Shaikh,18 , a resident of Palghar who is the kingpin and his accomplices, Vishal Ramesh Raj, 20, and Pradip Parasnath Dubey, 28, both residents of Penkarpada in Kashimira.
The Gaddi Gangs's Modus Operandi
The modus operandi of the gang which operated in a group of three, would be to separately approach a bank account holder depositing cash in the bank, con him into handing his real currency notes and hand him the bundle of blank paper and escape while he is trying to untie the bundle. Badhakh explained, the first person would approach the victim who would be waiting to deposit cash in the bank, and tell him that since he did not have an account in the bank, he would hand over the money to the bank account holder to deposit the money in his account and would tell him that he would later withdraw the money from his ATM. Meanwhile, the other gang members would intervene and lure the victim by saying, since the money being deposited was not all white cash, he could charge a hefty cut for depositing and withdrawing money.
After the depositor fell for the lie, they would trick him into taking the bundle of blank paper and relieve him of this cash and ask him to count the cash to be on the safer side. By the time the depositor untied the tightly wrapped bundle of paper to find a stack of plain paper, the cheats would decamp with the loot, Badhakh said.
Suspects confess to have committed 10 similar offences
The trio confessed to their involvement in ten similar offences committed by them in Mumbai, Thane and Palghar using a similar modus operandi. The police recovered ₹21,000 from the possession of the accused who have been booked under section 420 of the IPC. The trio used the cash to fund their drug addiction. “After presenting them in court, we handed over the custody of the trio to Versova police station in Mumbai for further investigations,” said Badhakh.
