The Nerul police on Monday arrested a man wanted for bank and jewellery thefts in many states.
The Bokaro Steel City police from Jharkhand had sought the Nerul police’s help to trace Hassan Khalil Shaikh alias Hassan Chikna (37), the key accused in a burglary at a State Bank of India Branch in Bokaro Steel City of ₹8 crore during the Christmas holidays in 2017.
Cash, gold recovered
The Nerul police received a tip-off that the accused would be in Sector 20 to meet someone on Monday. “Two of our personnel, disguised as census workers, started surveying the area. After spotting Mr. Shaikh, they signalled other officers who had hidden nearby. The team then arrested him,” senior police inspector Ashok Rajput said.
The police have recovered valuables worth ₹2.13 crore — ₹33.64 lakh in cash and 5.5 kg gold ornaments worth ₹1.79 crore — from Mr. Shaikh.
While the Jharkhand police had already arrested 12 people involved in the burglary, Mr. Shaikh, the key accused, was on the run. The gang had broken into 76 lockers at the SBI administrative building branch in Bokaro Steel City, and stolen ornaments and valuables worth over ₹8 crore.
Crime averted
“The modus operandi of the accused was to stay in a particular place for a long period, find a target and conduct a recce of the place before planning a theft. He had been staying at Reay Road for a few months, and we believe he was planning his next crime either in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai or Thane,” Mr. Rajput said.
Mr. Shaikh was also wanted by the Odisha and Uttar Pradesh police. “The accused has been handed over to the Bokaro Steel City police,” assistant police inspector Rajesh Gajjal from the Nerul police said.
