Police slap MCOCA against gang that robbed Angadia agents

The decision to invoke MCOCA came after the cops received around 40 complaints of Angadias being robbed of bags containing cash or jewellery. “Since the gang members worked in a coordinated and planned manner, their acts fell under the purview of organised crime and hence they were booked under the MCOC Act, 1999,” said a police officer

MUMBAI: The Mumbai police have invoked the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against five robbers who would jointly target Angadias (couriers who transport cash and gold) from Pydhonie and Kalbadevi in South Mumbai. This is the first time the police have applied the stringent provisions of MCOCA in a case of this kind.

India, Mumbai...21 March, 2013... This is the spot in Zaveri bazar where one of blast had taken place in 1993 , on Thursday ..Photo by Vijaynanand Gupta / (Hindustan Times)

The decision to invoke MCOCA came after the cops received around 40 complaints of Angadias being robbed of bags containing cash or jewellery. “Since the gang members worked in a coordinated and planned manner, their acts fell under the purview of organised crime and hence they were booked under the MCOC Act, 1999,” said a police officer.

The gang’s modus operandi was to identify potential victims and then choose the ones carrying heavy bags. Senior members of the gang would follow the target while others would identify a relatively isolated spot to rob him. There, one or two members would keep a close watch on the surroundings, while a third would deliberately bump into the victim or try to distract him by asking for directions. Meanwhile, another member would snatch the bag and flee. The member tasked with distracting the Angadia would direct his attention in the wrong direction, thus enabling his fellow thug to get away easily.

As complaints of Angadia agents being robbed began to spiral, the police started monitoring the Kalbadevi and Pydhonie areas and listing suspects. They zeroed in on the gang of five, who had the maximum cases registered against them, and who would routinely continue with their life of crime after getting bail or even being externed from the city.

“No deterrent worked. Every time we arrested them, they would get bail and history would be repeated,” said Abhinav Deshmukh, additional commissioner of police, south region. “We studied the pattern of the gang’s crimes and found that it operated in an organised manner like a crime syndicate. Since the conviction rate in theft cases is very low and the accused would soon get out of jail, we nabbed all the five members and applied the stringent provisions of MCOCA against them. This will help detain them behind bars for a longer time.”

The arrested gang members are identified as Rahul Nandu Waghmare, 31, Javed Shaikh, 23, Salman Mohammad Jamil Ansari, 30, Sarfaraj Jamil Shaikh, 27, and Nabi Hussain Ali Shaikh alias Chikna Babu, 30.

Javed Shaikh, the sharp and aggressive mastermind of the gang, roams around with a knife to cut the Angadias’ bags and threaten them at knife point. Javed, who has been committing such crimes since he was a minor, is allegedly involved in around 16 cases of robbery and bag-lifting.

Nabi Hussain Ali Shaikh has the maximum cases registered against him—over 40 offences at various police stations. He has at least 20 offences against him at Pydhonie and LT Marg police stations and an almost equal number registered in Dadar, Churchgate and Sewri for mobile-snatching and bag-lifting.

Rahul Waghmare is involved in around 13 cases and was convicted in one in 2019. The police externed him from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region for one year but that failed to deter the expert in identifying potential victims, and he had to be arrested again.

Sarfaraj and Salman, who joined Javed two years ago, are accused in five offences each.

The case in which MCOCA was applied

The MCOCA case was based on a complaint registered by a 26-year-old who runs a jewellery shop in Bhoiwada with his father. On March 27, around 5.30 pm, the victim was carrying ₹1.70 lakh in a bag to go pay a jewellery-maker. When he reached Khau Galli in Kalbadevi, two accused pushed him; when he turned around to question them, another joined them. The trio pushed him and as he fell to the ground, one snatched his bag and fled.

During investigation, the LT Marg police got hold of CCTV footage of the accused from cameras in the vicinity. The Zaveri Bazaar’s Jeweller’s Association, which has a WhatsApp group that circulates pictures of notorious thieves with their names, showed the photos to the complainant, who identified the trio as Nabi, Rahul and Javed. The police then arrested them and recovered cash of Rs. 83,500.

Prithviraj Kothari, national president of the India Bullion and Jeweller’s Association, said that the accused would steal cash and valuables worth lakhs, and pay a lakh or two to a lawyer and get out on bail to resume their life of crime. “Jewellers and businessmen will be able to breathe freely for a few years now,” he said. “The police have taken appropriate action by applying MCOCA, as the robbers will not get bail for four to five years. This will send out a strong message to other criminals.”