The police are often criticized for turning away complainants and taking lost property cases lightly. However cops from the Navghar police station in Bhayandar showed up their brighter side by immediately swinging into action after they noticed a sudden spurt in the number of people approaching them with complaints of lost mobile phones.
A crime detection team led by senior police inspector-Milind Desai under the supervision of DCP (Zone I)- Amit Kale activated their core informer network and intensified vigilance on the stretch of road from where most of the cases were being reported. This apart from scanning footage from Close Circuit Tele-Vision Camera (CCTV) cameras. Acting on a tip-off, the police team apprehended a suspect identified as-Akil Mohammed Shafiq Shaikh (36) from Bhiwandi. After rounds of sustained interrogation, Shaikh confessed to his crime which led to the arrest of another person identified as-Saddrudin Jamalludin Ansari (44) who purchased the stolen mobiles from the accused at throwaway prices. However, two more accomplices who played active roles in the crime are still at large.
Throwing light on the modus operandi of the gang, senior police inspector-Milind Desai said,
“Two accused would commute in a shared auto-rickshaw and squeeze their co-passenger and swiftly pick-up the mobile phone from his pocket. Their third accomplice-a biker would come close to the auto-rickshaw and raise an alarm that someone’s mobile phone had fallen behind. Without realizing that their mobile phone had been picked, the targets would alight from the vehicle and start searching. The thieves would then flee on the bike.” The police team has recovered 14 mobile phones worth Rs. 1.73 lakh and the bike which was used in the crime. While the duo have been arrested and booked under section 379 of the IPC, a manhunt has been launched to nab their accomplices. Investigations were on to ascertain the gang’s involvement in other similar crimes in and around the region, police said.
