The crime branch unit (zone III) of the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar(MBVV) police commssionerate foiled an armed robbery bid by apprehending ten members of the interstate “Ghorasahan" gang in Nallasopara late on Tuesday night.
The gang is also dubbed as the "shutter katwa '' (shutter-breakers) or “chaddar” (bedsheet) gang owing to their speciality in cutting iron shutters and modus-operandi of using bed sheets as a cover to carry out the break-ins. However in this case the gang had used the modus to conduct a recce of their target- which was apparently a petrol pump located in the Santosh Bhuvan area of Nallasopara (east).
Based on a specific tip-off, the team under the supervision of DCP (crime)- Dr. Mahesh Patil apprehended the suspects who were found to be in possession of nylon ropes, chilli powder, sickles and iron cutters. The accused have been identified as-Naeem Dewan (48), Vikram Premchand Prasad (25),Naeem Munna Dewan (25), Suheb Ahmed Zaheer Ahmed (45), Vijaykumar Mahto (25), Aslam Hafizul Sai (27), Dharmendra Sahani (29), Vikeshkumar Paswan (19), Rohit Kumar Paswan (19)- all natives of Ghorasahan in east Champaran district of Bihar and Omnath Jawaharlal Saha (29)- who belongs to Nepal.
After rounds of sustained interrogation, the accused have confessed to their involvement in three break-ins committed in the jurisdictions of the Virar, Nallasopara and Dindoshi ( Mumbai) police stations. However, the investigating team suspect the accused to be involved in a spate of robberies in other parts of Maharashtra, Delhi, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Telangana. The gang mainly targeted mobile and watch showrooms.
While some members of the gang positioned themselves with a bed sheet (pretending to be folding it) in front of the targeted establishment, their accomplices would break open the locks, police said.
The stolen booty is mostly sold across the border in Nepal. Meanwhile a case under the relevant sections of the IPC and the Indian Arms Act. Further investigations are being carried out by officials attached to the Tulinj police station.
