The Mumbai Police Crime Branch has arrested a gang of four thieves who have allegedly revealed that they targeted a specific bus route in Mumbai favoured by hawala operators to ferry cash. The Crime Branch said it is pressing the quartet to reveal more about the bus route.
According to Crime Branch officials, the revelation was made after the gang was arrested in connection with the theft of a bag containing diamond jewellery and cash worth Rs 98 lakh in January.
“The complainant, an employee with a diamond jewellery trading firm, had boarded the BEST bus number 512 from Chirag Nagar in Ghatkopar. He was carrying diamond jewellery worth Rs 96 lakh and Rs 2.3 lakh in cash in his bag. The robbers snatched the bag from him while he was getting off the bus near Phoenix Marketcity Mall in Kurla. The accused surrounded him at the exact moment when he was getting off, snatched the bag, and disappeared into the crowd,” said Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Atulchandra Kulkarni.
The complainant subsequently registered a complaint with the Vinoba Bhave Nagar police station. The Crime Branch initiated a parallel investigation. Unit VI of the Crime Branch received a tip off about a new gang of bag snatchers operating in the eastern suburbs. Investigations led them to the four accused, and they were picked up from near Deonar Bus Depot on Friday.
“The accused said they always travelled on route 512 as a lot of hawala operators ferry large amounts of cash on this route. Such people are targets of choice as they would not approach the police if they were robbed. They snatched the complainant’s bag hoping to find cash in it, but could not find a buyer for such a large amount of stolen diamond jewellery. We have recovered stolen booty worth Rs 84 lakh from them and are finding out what happened to the rest,” said Mr Kulkarni.
The accused have been identified as Sudhir Raibhan (38), Yusuf Sheikh (43), Abdul Jabbar (43) and Kayyum Qureshi (39). They were produced in the Esplanade Court on Saturday and have been remanded to the Crime Branch’s custody till February 10, officials said.
