Officers of the Navi Mumbai Crime Branch’s Central unit worked as waiters in a Bengaluru hotel for three days to bust a gang that ran a car rental racket.
Following the arrest of Satyaprakash Verma alias Babu (30) on November 6 after staking out his apartment in Bhoisar for 10 days, the team learnt that his accomplices Ashish Gangaram Pujari (32) and Anthony Paul Chettiyar (38) were staying in a hotel in Bengaluru. A team including senior police inspector Nivrutti Kolhatkar and assistant police inspector Rajesh Gajjal then worked as waiters in the hotel and nabbed the duo.
Later, the team arrested Mohammad Waseem Mohammad Fareed Shaikh (33) from Surat and Javed Abdul Sattar Shaikh alias Mama (46) from Daman.
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The Nerul police registered a case against the accused in February after they cheated 25 people by taking their cars on rent and selling them. The police have recovered 21 vehicles worth ₹2.2 crore. The accused also have cases registered against them at Yerwada and Dindoshi police stations. The accused have been remanded in police custody till Sunday.