Bag lifter booked under MCOCA attempts suicide inside lock-up

A bag-lifter booked under MCOCA attempted suicide inside a police station lock-up. The accused has over 41 bag lifting and mobile theft cases registered against him.

MUMBAI: A 28-year-old bag-lifter booked under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) allegedly attempted to die by suicide inside the LT Marg police station lock-up on Tuesday.

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The incident took place late in the night when constable Dhananjay Adate noticed the accused, Nabi Hussain Ali Hussain Shaikh, 28, banging his head on the lock-up wall.

Shaikh, 28, a Dharavi resident, has over 41 bag lifting and mobile theft cases registered against him. The constable rushed Shaikh to GT Hospital. His condition is said to be stable.

A police officer said, “Shaikh along with Rahul Waghmare, Javed Shaikh and Salman Ansari, was recently booked under the MCOCA. The gang has several cases of bag snatching in Kalbadevi and Pydhonie against them. They mostly targeted angadias (couriers who transport cash and gold).”

Previously, whenever they were arrested, they would get out on bail and continue committing crimes. This time, they have been booked under the MCOCA.

Shaikh’s custody was taken in a theft case. When he realised that he would not get bail easily, he took the extreme step, the police said.

“Shaikh is a drug addict and even demanded ganja or mephedrone from the police officers. He even threatened them when they refused to give him drugs. After some time he started banging his head on the lock-up wall,” the police officer said.