Mumbai Crime: Inter-state burglary gang busted by Malad police

Mumbai police

The Malad police busted an inter-state burglary gang, and arrested three of its members on Sunday, while two are absconding. According to the police the gang members hail from West Bengal but spent most of their lives in Delhi living in the Jahangir Puri area and have been committing crimes in various states besides Delhi city for years.

Since most of the Delhi police knew them and made it difficult for them to operate there, they turned to other cities, and also made Mumbai their target. In Mumbai, they would stay in small guest houses in slums in Kurla, Dharavi and Vakola. They then targeted houses, especially in 3 or 4 storey building with no security, for breaking ins and thefts.

Seven burglaries in Mumbai

The mastermind of the gang has 96 cases against him in Delhi and completed a 100 burglaries, after he and his gang members committed seven more in Mumbai last week before his arrest, the police said. The three accused who were caught by the Malad police from Ratlam Railway station, have confessed to seven burglaries in Mumbai including Mira Road, Kherwadi, Andheri, and Malad. The police recovered valuables worth more than R10 lakh from their possession, said an officer from Malad police station.

Also Read: Mumbai Crime: Two men arrested for showing tourists 'Film City' in Aarey Colony

The arrested accused were identified as Nizam Nisar Shaikh, 46, Afsar Rahmanur Shaikh, 28, and Anwar Rahmanur Shaikh, 38. Nizam Shaikh is said to be the mastermind of the gang and has a record of 96 burglary cases against him in Delhi. The gang of five was staying in Kurla in a guest house. A burglary was reported to the Malad police station where valuables and cash worth about R1.87 lakh were stolen from the house of 56-year-old Jaishree Vaghela at Malad on January 11.

A case under sections 380, 427, and 454 of IPC was registered under the guidance of DCP Ajay Kumar Bansal and the supervision of ACP Renuka Bagde. Senior Inspector Ravindra Adhane, API Sachin Kapse, PSI Shivaji Shinde and their team began the investigation and traced the accused with the help of CCTV footage.

Cops search CCTV footages

"We found an auto rickshaw in the CCTV footage in which the accused had escaped after committing the crime. We checked hundreds of CCTV footages and finally reached a hotel at Kurla the next day. From the hotel personnel, we got information on five people who came from Delhi and stayed in the hotel for a week. Two of them left the hotel a day before, while three checked out four hours before the Malad police reached," the officer added.

"We checked the CCTV footage at the hotel and got their images. We found the three accused had taken a taxi and gone in the direction of south Mumbai. We traced the taxi to Mumbai Central railway station. The trio had boarded the Rajdhani train to Delhi and with the help of the RPF we caught them at Ratlam Station on Sunday," said another officer.

"We have uncovered seven burglary cases which the accused had committed in one week in their stay in the city. We have recovered jewellery and valuables worth more than R10 lakh from their possession. Two of the accused left Mumbai and escaped to Delhi by flight. The Malad police busted and caught these habitual inter-state burglars," said DCP Ajay Kumar Bansal. The arrested accused were produced in a court on Monday and remanded in police custody.