Using hate to hoodwink cops

The accused also picked phones from busy areas like stations

Capitalising on the growing anti-minority narrative, two men dressed in Muslim attire targeted evening walkers near the Khar Gymkhana and robbed their mobile phones. The duo was arrested after the police worked on a complaint and began studying footage from more than two dozen CCTV cameras. The two have been identified as Krishna Shetty and Rajesh Vilas Vast.

The police said Shetty and Vast live between Bandra and Khar and are experts at riding motorcycles at breakneck speed even in narrow lanes. They would mostly target even walkers busy on phones. After snatching the phone, they would zip through the Khar Subway towards the Western Express Highway.

The duo also stole phones from places like railway stations. Representation pic

In this case, the complainant had been robbed in March. "During the investigation, we examined footage from 25-30 CCTV cameras. In one footage, Krishna [Sheety] was seen riding a motorcycle in Bandra East. Working on that lead, we arrested Krishna from the Bandra East last week. During his interrogation, Rajesh's name came up. He was also arrested," said PSI Sachin Tirmukhe of Khar police station.

"Krishna rides a motorcycle in Dhoom style. He would disguise himself as a Muslim while committing thefts. He would also use fake number plates on his bike," said a source. The police later found that the two had snatched away phones from three more people from the same spot in Khar.

The duo has told the police that they sold the phones to migrant workers from West Bengali and Nepal for just R2,000-3,000 so that even if the police traced the devices, it won't be easy for them to recover them. Senior PI Mohan Mane led the team that cracked the case. Inspector Mahadev Nimbalkar and PSI Sachin Tirmukhe were a part of the team.

Rs 2-3k
Amount duo sold mobiles for