Court extends Dudhani-Tak gang’s police custody

The seven members of Dudhani-Tak gang were on Thursday granted police custody till December 20 for their alleged involvement in committing dacoity at a petrol pump on the Ganeshkhind Road in September this year.

The gang was slapped with the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), 1999, on December 13 for looting over Rs78,000.

The suspects are Veermangalsingh alias Donsingh Mayasingh Dudhani, 31, of Gandhinagar slum of Thane; Ramsingh Pratapsingh Tak, 42, Santosh Janardan Bansode, 25, Yogesh Vijay Yadav, 22, and Dasharath Gajanan Burbade, 24, of Dhonewadi, Ambarnath; Nihalsingh Nirmalsingh Patwa, 25, of Igatpuri, Nashik and Sangramsingh Gajalsingh Bhada, 25, of Dighi.

Seeking an extension of 45 days, the special public prosecutor, SM Jagtap, told the court that the investigation officer needs to collect the details of property acquired by the suspects through organised crime. He said whether the gang has committed any other similar offence needs to be probed.

The court granted an extension of 45-day police custody to the suspects.

The crime branch had arrested the suspects from Dighi on September 11 and recovered weapons, an ambulance with red beacon used in the crime and cellphones totally valued at Rs1.04 lakh.

The suspects allegedly looted Rs57,000 from a petrol pump on the Ganeshkhind Road by threatening the petrol pump attendant with weapons. The gang, carrying swords and choppers, had arrived in a van to commit the crime on September 6.