The crime branch unit (zone II) attached to the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) police claimed to have busted a gang of robbers who snatched mobile phones of bikers and auto-rickshaw passengers travelling on the highway. Alarmed by the sudden rise in robberies on the highway by bike-borne thieves, MBVV chief- Sadanand Date deputed the crime branch personnel to conduct parallel investigations into the series of offences and nab the culprits.
Subsequently a team led by Police Inspector-Shahuraj Ranaware and API-Sagar Shinde under the supervision of ACP- Amol Mandwe started investigations into the cases. On the virtue of a robust informer network supported by an advanced electronic surveillance mechanism, the team rounded up the three robbers who have been identified as- Uzer Shahid Ansari (21), Salman Haroon Ansari (21) and Uzer Furkan Ansari (22) from their hideouts in Bhiwandi.
The team recovered stolen bikes worth more than Rs. 2 lakh and a motor-cycle which was used in the crimes. So far, the accused have confessed to have committed 13 robberies in the jurisdiction of the Valiv and Pelhar police stations in Vasai and Nallasopara. However, the investigating team has not ruled out their involvement in more similar crimes on the highways of the adjoining areas. The trio have been booked under section 392 of the IPC.
