3-member gang of interstate dacoits arrested in Kandivli

A three-member inter-state gang of dacoits was arrested by the Crime Branch on Thursday night, when they were allegedly preparing to commit robbery in Kandivli.

A three-member inter-state gang of dacoits was arrested by the Crime Branch on Thursday night, when they were allegedly preparing to commit robbery in Kandivli.

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Deputy Commissioner of Police, crime (suburbs) Amar Jadhav said on Friday that, in the last two years, the gang was involved in six robberies.

According to Jadhav, the leader of the gang is Anil Rajput (38), a former aide of notorious dacoits Abdul Gani and Irshad Sheikh. Gani and Irshad were killed in an encounter with the Mumbai police in 2004. In the same year, Rajput was booked under MPDA and MCOCA and served his sentence till December 8, 2008. Following his release, he teamed up with Yusuf Noorani (31) and Shivanand Pandey (31), who he had met during his imprisonment.

The gang’s area of operation spread across Navi Mumbai, Thane, Nashik, Shahpur and other parts of Maharashtra. The gang was involved in looting five kilograms of gold from a jewellery store in Shahpur and another 400 gms from the Panchvati area of Nashik. They would also target commuters on the highways.

Acting on information, which the crime branch received, Unit XI of the crime branch tracked down the gang members and zeroed in on them when they were allegedly planning to strike at the Shiv Mandir Road in Kandivli (w) on Thursday night.

Three factory-made revolvers along with 10 live rounds, and a country-made pistol with two cartridges were recovered from the trio. The crime branch is planning to invoke MCOCA against the gang members, Jadhav added.