Cops disguise as tempo, auto drivers to nab jewellery thief

According to Crime Branch officers, the accused, Naushad Ali Jaffri (40), has at least 36 cases registered against him all over Mumbai, and more in cities like Thane, Surat and Ahmedabad

Mumbai A month-long cat-and-mouse game between an Irani history sheeter and the Mumbai Crime Branch came to an end with his arrest on Saturday. After two failed attempts at nabbing him on his own turf, the Crime Branch team waited in disguise for six days before arresting him and taking him away, pursued by his cohorts, in the early hours of the morning.

The police said that he started with chain snatching and later moved on to stealing jewellery from senior citizens by posing as a police officer (HT Photo)

According to Crime Branch officers, the accused, Naushad Ali Jaffri (40), has at least 36 cases registered against him all over Mumbai, and more in cities like Thane, Surat and Ahmedabad. The police said that he started with chain snatching and later moved on to stealing jewellery from senior citizens by posing as a police officer.

“In March this year, a 70-year-old woman from Jogeshwari was robbed of her jewellery by two men posing as police personnel. Naushad posed as an officer while his accomplice posed as a constable. They intercepted her while she was on her morning walk, pretended to advise her to keep her gold chain safely wrapped in a handkerchief instead of wearing it around her neck, and pocketed it in the process,” a Crime Branch officer said.

When the case remained unsolved, the Property Cell of the Crime Branch took over the investigation last month, and arrested Haidar Jaffri (38), who posed as a constable, and Sakina Jaffri (35), who later sold the chain. Naushad had been identified in their interrogation but remained at large.

Twice in the last one month, the Property Cell sent teams to the Ambivali town near Kalyan, where Irani migrants with criminal records are known to stay. However, both times, a massive mob of women surrounded the police vehicles and did not allow them to enter the town.

“We noticed that both times, the residents were already aware of our impending arrival and waiting for us in large numbers. We made some inquiries with this in mind and found out that the community has cultivated informants among shopkeepers on the Kalyan stretch of the highway leading to Ambivali. The moment a four-wheeler with Mumbai licence plates passes by, these informants immediately alert the community,” said the officer.

Accordingly, a Property Cell team discreetly hired tempos and autorickshaws registered in Thane last week and reached the Ambivali railway station. For six days, the team, disguised as drivers, kept a watch at the station, as they knew that history sheeters from Ambivali took trains from there to go to cities like Mumbai and Thane to commit crimes.

Finally, a little after dawn on Saturday, the police spotted Naushad walking to the station. The team intercepted him and took him to a tempo even as the people realised that it was a police raid. However, just before they left, the police transferred Naushad to an SUV parked next to the tempo.

“As a mob started gathering, the tempo sped away and Naushad’s friends chased it on motorbikes and autorickshaws. Meanwhile, the SUV brought Naushad to Mumbai, where he was questioned and arrested. He was subsequently produced in the Esplanade Court, and has been remanded in our custody till September 28,” the officer said.