The large police team went into the 'dangerous' Irani Basti at 5 am and arrested 25 people in connection with a spate of robberies and vehicle thefts u00a0in the area

Alarmed at the sharp increase in chain snatching, vehicle thefts and robberies in the Dombivli-Kalyan-Ulhas-nagar-Badlapur belt, more than 400 policemen and women led a combing operation in Irani Basti at Ambivli, Kalyan early last morning.According to DCP Hirasingh Jadhav of the Kalyan police, 25 people were arrested and 45 stolen vehicles, gold and silver ornaments worth Rs 36 lakh and Rs 50,000 in cash were seized from them.

The police were acting on information gleaned from the interrogation of a suspect arrested in connection with Wednesday's robbery, in which Avinash Bhoir (45) was attacked while he was on his way to Badlapur with his family for a wedding.

Special team
The suspect revealed that a gang from the basti was behind Wednesday's robbery and others like it and the newly appointed commissioner of police of Thane district, Krishna Pal Singh Raghuv-anshi, formed a special team to arrest the accused.