MUMBAI: Two
members of a
gang that goes by the name ‘Jadugar’ due to its expertise in making an individual’s bag disappear in minutes and for using a secret code of communication, were recently
arrested by the
GRP in connection with a Rs 4.5 lakh theft.
A special GRP team combed around 400 lodges in Ajmer and
Paharganj before they managed to nab the kingpin, Nalasopara’s Bablu Shaikh (35). The gang is involved in 20 offences in Mumbai so far.
On April 10, Shaikh and his accomplices stole a bag containing Rs 4.5 lakh in cash from a broker, Chetan Doshi, while he was climbing a foot over-bridge at Masjid station. On his arrest, Shaikh explained to cops that every ganh member was assigned a task. “For instance, Rafiq was tasked with scouting for victims. He would stand outside railway stations and observe the appearance and body language of commuters and the bags they were carrying,” said a police officer. Rafiq had noticed Doshi carrying a white plastic bag as he entered Goregaon station. He gestured to Shaikh and said “dhoor jaa raha hai” (this man is our target) and added that Doshi was carrying “nanga patta” (cash).
The gang trailed Doshi as he boarded the first-class compartment of a CST-bound train. Shaikh and his aides boarded the adjacent compartment. Farooq, another gang member, kept a check on Doshi. At Masjid station, the gang alighted on noticing that Doshi had got off the train. They followed him to the foot over-bridge. Two gang members, Bunty Dulgaj and Bullet, were to surround Doshi so Shaikh could strike. “Daav lene ko tayyar raho” (be ready), said Vinayak, who was tasked with carrying an empty sack on him at all times.
Shaikh snatched Doshi’s bag and passed it to Vinayak who pushed it into his sack and continued to walk ahead as if nothing had happened. Meanwhile, Farooq and the others confused Doshi by screaming that they had seen a man run in the other direction. Doshi filed a complaint with CST GRP later.
Recently, the GRP’s special task force was tipped off that the gang had gone to the Ajmer dargah. Armed with CCTV grabs of gang members, cops landed up in Ajmer. “We checked 200 to 250 lodges. But the gang fled to Delhi,” said senior inspector Santosh Dhanvate, GRP crime branch. Cops learnt that the gang was holed up at Paharganj in central Delhi. “We combed another 100 to 150 lodges. On receiving another tipoff that the gang was to arrive at Hari Masjid, we laid a trap and nabbed Shaikh. The others fled,” added Dhanvate.
On the basis of information provided by Shaikh, cops arrested Dulgaj from Thane district. A sum of Rs 1.2 lakh has been recovered.
Representative image
