Kherwadi Police slapped a Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) charges on four history-sheeters in a crackdown on chain snatchers and motorcycle thefts at Western Express Highway and eastern suburbs. Kherwadi Police arrested two men and recovered cash and valuables worth Rs 12.61 lakh from them. The accused duo were history-sheeters and they were booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.
On December 5, two motorcycle-borne men had snatched a woman’s chain on the south-bound arm of the Western Express Highway near Kalanagar Bridge in Bandra (E), after which a case of robbery was lodged at Kherwadi police station. In the days that followed, similar incidents of chain snatching were reported on the WEH on the Vile Parle-Vakola-Kherwadi belt, sending chills down the spine of residents and motorists.
In a crackdown to arrest the accused, additional commissioner of police (west region) Manoj Kumar Sharma directed Manjunath Singe, deputy commissioner of police (zone 8) to form four teams. Accordingly, four teams were formed, one each from Vakola, Nirmal Nagar, Vile Parle and Kherwadi police stations.
During the probe, police scrutinised the CCTV camera footage of the spots where the chain snatchers targeted and checked the previous records in and around the city. Acting on a tip-off that a man was coming to buy the stolen gold, police detained him and grilled him for more details.
“After the arrest, the man, who acted as a middle man gave leads on two accused-- the mastermind Tahir Rizvi alias Mannu Batla, 35 and Aftab Shah, 19, who were arrested. The duo revealed that they had sold the stolen gold to Bishwanath Bera, 45 and he too was arrested. They had chain snatching cases lodged against them at Vile Parle, Vikhroli, Vakola, Nirmal Nagar,” said a police officer.
Further probe revealed that they had also stolen motorcycles from Pant Nagar area to commit the crimes and had motorcycle theft cases lodged against them at Nirmal Nagar police station and other suburban police stations. As the probe progressed, police learnt about the modus operandi used by the accused, wherein Rizvi used to steal bikes from Pant Nagar, he was then joined by Shah for committing the chain snatching. While the third accused then acted as a middleman and sold the stolen gold to the fourth accused, Bera. Police have recovered 250 grams of gold, Rs 2.07 lakh in cash and motorcyles collectively valued at Rs 12.61 lakhs.
