Fatka gangs re-emerge in Mumbai after a lull during lockdown, 3 members held by Wadala GRP

After a lull in criminal activity because of the Covid-19 lockdown, fatka gangs have returned to the Mumbai suburban railway tracks, even before the train services

After a lull in criminal activity because of the Covid-19 lockdown, fatka gangs have returned to the Mumbai suburban railway tracks, even before the train services are fully restored. Three members of one such gang known to attack and rob commuters on trains were arrested by the Government Railway Police (GRP) at Wadala.

HT Image

The three accused, identified as Mohammed Bilal Shaikh, 25, Allauddin Shaikh, 20, and Tareef Mandal, 27, were arrested after commuter Omkar Prashant Kulkarni immediately informed GRP officers at Reay Road railway station about being hit with a stick, and robbed of his mobile phone.

The incident occurred when Kulkarni, a resident of Ambarnath, was travelling with his friend Swapnil Gadak from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) to Wadala and was standing on the footboard and talking on his phone.

The train was about to reach Reay Road station when Kulkarni was hit on his hand, and his mobile phone fell near the tracks. When the train reached Reay Road station, Kulkarni informed the constables at the platform.

“Kulkarni directed them to the spot where he saw one of the accused trying to escape. The constables chased the accused and arrested them,” said Rajendra Pal, senior inspector, Wadala GRP.

“The three had been arrested for similar offences in 2016, 2017 and then in 2018 when a commuter died after he fell off the train when he was hit by Mohammed,” added Pal.

Mohammed and his accomplices were charged with murder at the time, but they managed to get bail and continued to repeat the same offence. “There seems to be no deterrent. Robbing mobile phones from commuters travelling on crowded trains has become easy money for these gang members, who disappear into slums or thickets along the railway tracks,” said Pal.