Police said when the two saw that the complainant was uneasy, they made him a target and decided to rob him. The two were later arrested.
(From left) Rashid Sheikh and Imran Imam Sahab Qureshi.
An employee of a foreign exchange firm was recently robbed of Rs 27.71 lakh, while he was travelling on a BEST bus. The two thieves were left disappointed after they found that the notes inside the bag were of foreign currency. However, they were overjoyed after a friend told them the currency was worth Rs 27.71 lakh. The police arrested the two while they tried to spend the money.
According to the police, on December 16, the employee was travelling from Ghatkopar to Vashi. Imran Imam Sahab Qureshi, 32, and Rashid Yusuf Sheikh, 42, were searching for a target. When they saw that the man was a bit uneasy, they decided to rob him.
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A police officer from Deonar police station said they tore the bag and removed another bag from within. "The bag had currency notes of different countries including American dollar, Euro and Dirham. They thought the currency was fake and even tore a few notes in frustration. But Shaikh asked Qureshi to be patient and they approached a friend who told them the currency was worth more than Rs 20 lakh."
He said the two accused then contacted Umesh Chheda, 52, and Vimal Jain, 58, both shopkeepers who helped them exchange the currency for Indian rupees.
Meanwhile, a case was registered under section sections 379 (theft), 411 (dishonestly receiving stolen property) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Senior Inspector Ragini Bhagwat formed a special team under API Godse and PSI Sumesh Pawar to track down the criminals.
During investigation, they found that two thieves were having "good days" and spending money. They then tracked Sheikh and Qureshi and arrested them from Sathe Nagar, Mankhurd and Cheetah Camp.
"We have arrested both the accused and recovered currency worth Rs 18.65 lakh rupees, which is 69% of the total stolen amount," another police officer from Deonar police station said, on condition of anonymity. They also arrested the two shopkeepers who accepted and exchanged the foreign currency from the accused. All four are now in judicial custody.
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