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4 held for posing as Lawrence gang members, demanding Rs 30L from jeweller
According to investigators, at least three jewellers in Vile Parle East, DN Nagar in Andheri and Borivali were targeted over the past few days.
Acting on a tip-off, a Crime Branch team on Wednesday raided an office in the Masjid Bunder area of south Mumbai and detained two suspects. (File Photo)
Borivali police arrested four members of a gang that allegedly threatened a city based jeweller and demanded Rs 30 lakh while posing as associates of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. Police said the main accused, who allegedly used international numbers to send WhatsApp messages threatening to kill the jeweller if the ransom was not paid, was still absconding.
According to investigators, at least three jewellers in Vile Parle East, DN Nagar in Andheri and Borivali were targeted over the past few days.
The arrested accused were identified as Riyazuddin Mohammad Bashir, 29, Mohammad Faiyaz Mohammad Qayyum Mansuri alias Saddam, 27, Mohammad Ashraful Qadri Mohammad Hasim Ansari, 36, and Mohammad Arbaaz Ansari Mohammad Izhar Ansari, 27. All are residents of Wasseypur in Dhanbad district of Jharkhand and were allegedly acting on the instructions of the main accused. A police team has left for Dhanbad to trace the mastermind.
The case came to light after a jeweller with a shop in Borivali West received a threatening message on February 18 from an international number beginning with +44. The caller demanded Rs 30 lakh, claimed to be a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang and warned that if the money was not paid, the jeweller would be killed in the same manner as “Baba Siddiqui”. When the store manager answered the call, the threat was allegedly repeated and the ransom demand reiterated. The jeweller then approached the police and an FIR was registered.
Acting on the complaint, Borivali police laid a trap. Officers posed as the complainant and engaged the accused in conversation, negotiating the ransom amount. The accused later agreed to accept gold instead of cash. Police traced the call location to Mahim and arrested Bashir. Based on his interrogation, the remaining three were arrested from Jogeshwari.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Sandip Jadhav of Zone 11 said the accused had travelled from their native place to collect the ransom on the direction of the main accused.
The four were produced before a court on Wednesday and remanded in police custody till March 4.
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