Mumbai: The Crime Detection Unit of Mumbai Police busted a gang of five people on Monday, who were allegedly involved in pickpocketing at BEST-run buses, especially in the Borivali area.
According to the police, they had received a tip-off which said that the gang will be ‘attempting’ their pickpocketing heist outside Borivali National Park, near a bus stop. The Crime Detection Unit, along with the local police, acted on the tip-off, to lay a trap and nab them.
The five people were eventually arrested by the police, had a ‘folding cutter’ in their possession, which they allegedly used to cut people’s pockets and steal items from them. Their modus operandi included targeting passengers who travel daily via Bus, especially in buses which are mostly crowded. Their target items for stealing are mobile phones, wallets, and other valuable items. They also stole the Chalo Smart Cards from passengers which are basically cards that facilitate digital and advance purchase of BEST bus tickets.
The police revealed that off-late the gang was getting more active as the buses are crowded due to the upcoming Diwali festival.
During the interrogation, the police found that the accused had more than 40 plus cases registered against them in various police stations across Mumbai Metropolitan Area (MMR) for crimes involving theft, house-breaking, robbery, attempt to murder, etc.
The five accused are identified as Rajaram Ramdas Patil, 40 (13 cases), Abdul Qadar, 50 (3 cases), Mohammad Rafiq Shaikh, 44 (4 cases), Sanjay Prabhakar Trimbake, 45 (11 cases) and Mahadev Vasant Mane, 39 (9 cases).
These police stations include Saki Naka, Mankhurd, JJ Marg, Borivali, D.N Nagar, Worli, Kurla, Dharavi, Matunga, Bhandup, Santacruz, B.K.C, Jogeshwari, Dindoshi, Colaba, Mumbra, Vasai, Chembur, Vinod Bhave Nagar, Thane City, Kandivali, Juhu, and Ghatkopar.
The police have registered a case against the five under section 401 of the Indian Penal Code. This section states that whoever belongs to any wandering or other gang of persons is associated with the purpose of habitually committing theft or robbery. They were presented in court and later granted police custody remand.
