Residents of Sewri and Parel can go on holiday trips without worrying about security of their homes this summer as the kingpin of an infamous robbery gang, which holds sway in the areas, is cooling his heels in jail.
Residents of Sewri and Parel can go on holiday trips without worrying about security of their homes this summer as the kingpin of an infamous robbery gang, which holds sway in the areas, is cooling his heels in jail. Dreaded dacoit Ramzan Galib Sheikh was arrested yesterday morning by a joint team of the Crime Branch and Sewri police while he was about to carry out a robbery at a house in Aarey Milk Colony. "His arrest also solved Saturday's murder case at Sewri," said Senior Inspector Rajan Bhogale. Sheikh confessed to his involvement in the murder of Abdul Wahab near Kingfisher Godown on Masson Road.
Wahab was mugged before being stabbed to death, he added. A dragnet was spread across the city soon after the police were tipped off that Sheikh was involved in the Sewri murder. He was also named in the murder of Changu Uttandi at Parel recently. Sheikh is known to be heading separate factions of robbers and pickpockets across the city. Some of his strongholds have been identified as Parel, Sewri, Vikhroli and Thane. According to police sources, members of Sheikh's gang got restive during the vacations when a large number of residents from Vikhroli, Parel and Sewri visited their native villages along the Konkan range or went on a holiday trip elsewhere.
Modus operandi
Robbers would fan out across the suburbs and earmark houses of families on vacation. Armed members would then barge into those houses under the cover of darkness and decamp with the booty unchallenged. A senior police officer said what made the gang dangerous was the fact the robbers would go on a stabbing spree if challenged. These urban dacoits had developed tools to break open strong doors. Investigations have indicated that the booty is taken to a secret location at Vithoba Nagar near Mumbra, where it is distributed among members. Sheikh's second-in-command has been identified as Raju Telgu, who specialised in climbing steep walls.
Burglary facts
According to an estimate, around 70 per cent of the house break-in cases go undetected and recovery of stolen goods is less than 17 per cent. In all 3,049 house break-in cases were registered in 2010, but only 973 were detected. While R56.16 crore was looted, booty worth only R9.75 crore was recovered.
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