The Property Cell of the Mumbai Crime Branch arrested five men for allegedly robbing a diamantaire of Rs 24 lakh in Borivali in April this year. The accused men, who have cheated many people in the past, have at least 10 similar cases registered against them in police stations across Mumbai and Thane.
According to the police, the complainant, a 38-year-old diamantaire, was on his way to his workplace in a BrihanMumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) bus on April 13 and had a bag full of diamonds valued at Rs 24,00,000. During the journey, he was spotted and targeted by the accused gang. The police said that one of the members approached him and told him that there was a fly or an insect on his shirt and distracted him. The accused's accomplice slid the bag full of diamonds and decamped from the bus. The main accused, too, made a run for it, following which the diamantaire approached the police.
Borivali Police began the probe and realised that the accused men are history sheeters, who have numerous cases with a similar modus operandi registered against them. The case was probed by the property cell, who scrutinised the CCTV camera footage and alerted all their informers. They also found the accused men's criminal records and identified them.
After a month and a half, the police caught the mastermind Anil Gaikwad, 52, who fled to Pune after realising the police were behind him. After arresting Gaikwad, the police also arrested his son Vishal, 27, Sayyed Rafiq, 35, Abdul Jabbar, 30 and Sanjay Dalvi, 32.
Since diamonds are difficult to sell, the police have managed to recover all the stolen diamonds from them.
