Thak-thak gang robs Mumbai stockbroker stuck in traffic jam of phone worth ₹60,000

The Bangur Nagar police in Goregaon are looking at CCTV footage for leads

A 34-year-old stockbroker was conned and robbed of his Rs 60,000 smartphone by two bike-borne thieves who distracted him by knocking on his car window and engaging him in conversation on a traffic-jammed road in Goregaon (west).

Khan’s phone was stolen after the thieves distracted him by knocking on his car window and engaging him in conversation. (HT File Photo)

In police circles, these gangs are called ‘thak-thak gangs’.

The Bangur Nagar police said the incident took place around 6.30pm on February 24 outside Bhagat Singh Nagar when the road was jammed.

The victim, Muddasar Khan, was heading from Andheri to Malad for work and was stuck in the traffic in his car when one of the accused knocked on his car window on the left. Khan was speaking on his Samsung S8 plus, and lowered the window to speak with him, but the accused moved away without speaking.

Before Khan could roll up his window, another gang member knocked on the right-side window. Khan kept the phone on the left seat and lowered the window. The accused got Khan into an argument and asked him to move his car ahead so that his bike could pass. Khan agreed and moved ahead after which he looked to pick up his mobile phone, but in those few seconds, his phone had been stolen.

“It looks like the work of a thak-thak gang. We are checking CCTV cameras for leads,” said a police official, who did not wish to be named. “We are also checking whether any of the accused, who have been arrested earlier for such crimes, are behind this theft.”