Victim’s associates follow accused car, patrolling police intercept vehicle, recover entire cash, four arrested
A gang of four men allegedly posing as policemen snatched a bag containing Rs 13 lakh in cash from a 58 year old retired school teacher in Wadala on Sunday evening. The accused were caught after the victim’s associates chased their car and alerted patrolling policemen, who intercepted the vehicle and recovered the entire amount.
The Wadala police arrested Nisar Sheikh 46, Sanjay Kumar Dubey 59, Pravin Pandey 32 and Alwin, and registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for robbery, cheating and impersonation. Police have also seized the car used in the crime.
According to the police, the complainant Anita Miranda, a retired teacher who now works as a private tutor in Dongri, lives in Vasai with her husband. She was looking to buy a flat in Wadala to reduce travel time. On Sunday around 5 pm, she visited the area with a neighbour and his wife and was carrying cash to pay as advance.
Police said one of Miranda’s acquaintances informed her that a man named Alwin would meet her in Wadala to show the flat. She reached the area around 4.30 pm, where Alwin and his associate Nisar Ahmed alias Salim Sawan Sheikh met her and took the group to a construction site opposite Lodha Tower.
A few moments later, two persons came in a white Ertiga car, claimed to be policemen, forcibly snatched a bag from Nisar and made him sit into the vehicle, and sped away, said a police officer.
Miranda, her neighbour and his wife immediately chased the Ertiga and managed to intercept it near KD junction in Govandi. Police personnel from the Deonar police station, who were on patrol, noticed a scuffle and rushed in to nab the accused.
During investigation, police found that the accused were using an Ertiga with a fake number plate MH 01 KL 6482. The accused were initially taken to the Deonar police station and later handed over to the Wadala TT police, under whose jurisdiction the offence took place.
During interrogation, police established Alwin’s role in the crime and arrested him as well.
The accused impersonated police personnel and attempted to flee with the cash. But the timely chase by the complainant’s associates and alert patrolling police managed to nab the culprits, said a senior officer from the Wadala TT police station.
Police said further investigation is underway to trace the owner of the car and check if the gang was involved in similar offences.(IE)
