Unit VI of the Mumbai crime branch on Friday arrested a gang of four affluent robbers operating in the city for the past 12 years. The gang would target people exiting banks after withdrawing money.
Unit VI of the Mumbai crime branch on Friday arrested a gang of four affluent robbers operating in the city for the past 12 years. The gang would target people exiting banks after withdrawing money.
According to the officials, the accused were identified as Iftikar Shaikh (40), Zahar Khan (40) Ashraf Rizvi (37) and Rajiv Yadav (30). They would use a motorbike to commit the alleged crimes.
All the accused were residents of posh complexes in Mumbai and Thane, cops said. Shaikh was a resident of the upmarket Lokhandwala complex in Oshiwara, Andheri (West). Khan had a flat in a complex in Mira Road. Rizvi was a resident of Mumbra while Yadav resided in Borivli's Yogi Nagar.
"We had an information that the four accused were supposed to assemble at Gandhi Maidan area in Chembur to make some plan, and we arrested them", said a crime branch officer. He added, "Through our investigation, we have come to know that the accused were involved in more than 50 cases in Mumbai and this figure may be higher."
According to sources, all the accused hail from Uttar Pradesh and came together and started committing robberies to make quick money.
An officer privy to the investigation said that Shaikh was a professional sharebroker and was also appointed a political party's minority secretary for the state until a few years back, before he was sacked from the position.
"They all worked in total coordination. As one of the accused would get inside the bank and identify the target - meaning the person who had withdrawn cash - the other would wait outside on a motorcycle. Then, the accused inside the bank would call up the person outside and alert him," said an officer. "Then the target would be trailed for some distance and when the time was opportune, the accused would snatch the victim's bag and flee."
The accused committed similar offences in Bandra, Andheri, MIDC, Sahar, Versova, Santacruz, Borivli, Powai etc, cops said.
The four have been booked for robbery and have been remanded in police custody till Tuesday.
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