Mumbai ‘fatka gang’ member killed over stolen mobile phone

A patrolling officer from the Azad Maidan police station discovered the body of a man near the pavement.

A 65-year-old ‘fatka gang’ member was arrested by the Azad Maidan police for allegedly killing a 22-year-old aide over a mobile phone which they had robbed from a local train commuter. Early on Sunday, a patrolling officer from the Azad Maidan police station discovered the body of a man near the pavement at the Income Tax office in the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus area. The victim’s head had been smashed by a paver block.

Police found the suspect with blood on his clothes (HT Photo)

The police have registered a case of murder and on questioning people in the area, identified the victim as Vikram Ratna Ninma, a drug addict and an active member of a ‘fatka gang’.

Ninma reportedly used to rob mobile phones from local train commuters and sleep in the trains at car sheds to steal belongings left behind by passengers. According to the police, the victim was part of a gang which used to board trains from Matunga or Mahim and rob mobile phones or stand on tracks with a stick to hit commuters standing on the footboard. A police officer revealed that there are several cases registered against Ninma at CSMT and other Government Railway Police (GRP) stations across the city.

After identifying the victim the police began tracing the other members of his gang in order to find a motive behind his murder. “We found out that one of the members of Ninma’s gang was seen roaming near Sion Hospital,” said Vasant Vakhare, senior police inspector of Azad Maidan police station. A team was dispatched and the suspect was taken into custody. “We found a stain of blood on the shorts of the suspect. When we questioned him, he confessed to having killed Ninma,” said Vakhare.

The accused identified as Vijay Devar alias Mutthuswami Ramaswami, 65, told police that on Saturday, Ninma, along with the rest of his gang had robbed a mobile phone from a train commuter. The victim later made off with the phone, which angered Devar. “For two days, Devar had been searching for Ninma. On seeing him asleep on the pavement near Income Tax office, he lifted a paver block and smashed Nanmi’s head in a fit of rage,” said Vakhare.

The police have arrested Devar on the charge of murder under section 302 of the Indian penal Code.