3 robbed within 1 hr on WEH, 1 arrested

Vakola police have recently arrested a member of a gang of highway robbers who travel on motorcycles and snatch belongings of commuters on the western express highway

Vakola police have recently arrested a member of a gang of highway robbers who travel on motorcycles and snatch belongings of commuters on the western express highway (WEH). They are now on the look-out for the other accused.

HT Image

Police started the hunt after receiving three complaints of robbery near Vakola, within an hour on November 19. A total of ₹1.1 lakh worth of valuables was stolen from the complainants.

The first victim, Disha Thakuriya, a Khar resident, was heading home from her office in Malad when the incident took place. “I had crossed the airport flyover, and was about to reach Vakola bridge when a biker came close to my autorickshaw and the pillion snatched my bag which had valuables worth ₹24,700. They fled from the area within seconds,” said Thakuriya.

“After a first information report (FIR) was lodged, police officers showed me CCTV footage from the area so that I could identify the accused. But the quality of the footage was very bad and we could not identify anyone,” she said.

Another commuter, Hiral Shah, was travelling from Bandra to Kandivli and had reached Vile Parle when motorcyclists snatched her bag which had valuables worth ₹51,070, including her office laptop.

Soon after, the robbers targeted the third commuter on the highway, Alapini Deshmukh, 35. Deshmukh’s mother Asha told Hindustan Times, “After finishing her work, my daughter was on her way home to Andheri in an auto. When she reached Vile Parle on the WEH, the bag-snatchers targeted her and escaped with valuables worth ₹35,000.”

“We are looking into the cases registered under sections 379 (punishment for theft) and 34 (common intention) of the India Penal Code (IPC) and are investigating the case,” said a senior police officer.

Manjunath Singe, deputy police commissioner, zone 8, told HT that the police have nabbed one of the accused from Nirmal Nagar. “We are verifying his role in other offences,” said Singe. “We also increasing highway patrolling and our police vehicles are stationed at highways for visible policing. Detection is a way to prevent such cases in the future.”