Alert policemen arrest 4 dacoits with swords, chopper on Mumbai’s JVLR

Officials said they suspect the four accused have previous criminal records, are hunting for the fifth accused who managed to escape.

Alert policemen on patrol duty arrested a gang of four dacoits on Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR) in the early hours of Sunday, and recovered swords, a chopper and materials used to break open locks and doors from them.

The four accused were arrested around 3.30am on Sunday.

Officials from Meghwadi police station are now trying to hunt down the fifth accused who managed to escape.

The arrested have been identified as Ashraf Shaikh, Imran Shaikh, Mushraf Shaikh and Shanu, while the fifth accused is Rajesh. All five accused are between 22 and 25 years of age, and hail from Mumbra in Thane.

“We had alerted all patrol vans on night duty after we got a tip-off that a group of criminals were planning to conduct dacoity,” said Prashant More, police inspector of Meghwadi police station.

Around 3.30am, officials in a patrol van spotted a WagonR on JVLR, heading towards Powai, and stopped the vehicle. During the search, they recovered the weapons, said Navinchandra Reddy, deputy commissioner of police, zone 10.

More said the accused went to Malad first, but did not commit any robbery there. They then moved to Jogeshwari on the basis of details being given to them by an informer. “We are also questioning them to find out who was giving them information to do the robbery,” said Reddy.

Preliminary inquiries suggest that the accused have previous criminal records of dacoity and robbery. “Shanu and Rajesh have cases registered against them in Thane area. We are questioning the four to determine their past criminal records,” More said.

The four accused were produced in court on Sunday, and have been remanded in police custody till June 15.