Cops play nomad, bust dacoity plot at electronics stores, arrest 3

In a scene straight out of a Hollywood thriller, policemen arrested three dacoits of a gang after disguising as homeless people sleeping on the footpath.

Two other accused are absconding; the trio had been remanded to police custody till November 28

In a scene straight out of a Hollywood thriller, policemen arrested three dacoits of a gang after disguising as homeless people sleeping on the footpath.

The accused were nabbed while they were making preparations for a dacoity at the electronics hub in Musafirkhana in the wee hours of Sunday morning. However, two other member of the gang managed to escape.

According to the MRA Marg police, they had received an information that some people were planning to commit a dacoity at the electronics wholesale shops located in a building at Musafirkhana on November 22. 8220;We decided to lay a trap for them and nab them while they would gather at the spot. As we had no idea about the time when they would strike, we decided to stake out the place and assembled a team of policemen in plain clothes for the operation,8221; Police Inspector Ravindra Doiphode said.

As police presence would have alerted the criminals, the police team slept on the streets around the building wearing disheveled clothes and pretending to be vagrants. 8220;As there are quite a few homeless people sleeping on the pavements near the building where the dacoity was planned, we thought of posing as one of them so as to not attract any attention,8221; said Doiphode.

At around 4 am on November 23, five men assembled near the building and started talking suspiciously. 8220;We overheard some of them discussing about the weapons they had brought with them. This confirmed that these men were the one we were looking for and at a signal, we leap towards them. Our team nabbed three of the five men, but two managed to flee towards Carnac Bunder,8221; he said.

The three arrested men have been identified as Dongri resident Hamid Shaikh 24, Jharkhand resident Mohammad Shaikh 30 and Sameer Khurshid 20. The police recovered a country-made revolver, some cartridges, a cough-inducing spray, an iron rod, a pair of screw drivers and a packet of chilli powder from them.

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The trio had been remanded to police custody till November 28.

8220;All three have numerous cases against them in police stations at Nagpada, Dongri, JJ Marg, Wadala, Sewri and also at MRA Marg for robbery and dacoities. We are conducting further enquiries with the accused to trace the identities and whereabouts of the remaining two men who escaped,8221; Doiphode said.