Fake IT officers raid house in Dahisar; loot worth Rs 81.6 lakh

Screengrabs from CCTV footage

The Dahisar police have arrested 13 accused including two women who had raided the house of a real estate agent in Gangotri apartments by posing as income tax officers just like the Akshay Kumar-starrer famous Bollywood film 'Special 26'.

After scanning the documents kept at home, the gang members decamped with Rs 80.4 lakh in cash as well as four mobile phones worth Rs. 1.2 lakh from the complaint's house.

The complainant Kisan Dagdu Belvate, 59, residing at B-wing of Gangotri apartments in Vrindavan area approached Dahisar police station and registered a complaint against the unknown people.

In his complaint, Belvate told the cops that the fake IT officials first confiscated their cellphones to freeze their communication with anyone before carrying out a search operation in the house.
"All of them searched the cupboards and lockers in the house, took out jewellery and cash and kept it on a table before taking statements of each family member. They behaved professional just like genuine IT officials. Our statements were jotted down on a piece of white blank paper. We were instructed to visit the Income Tax office to get further details and they left the house with valuables, cash and cellphones of all the family members," Belvate wrote in his complaint.

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Belvate got alarmed only after he narrated the incident to his neighbour who asked him to approach local police immediately.

After the case was registered, the cops amassed the CCTV footage of the building and teams were formed to trace the accused whose faces were captured in the surveillance cameras installed in the building premises and other CCTVs installed nearby Belvate's apartment.

"We noticed one auto rickshaw and three cars were moving together and they reached Belvate's building where the robbery took place. Later, they boarded the same vehicles which headed towards Thane rural via Dahisar check naka. The number plates were thoroughly scanned to zero-in the first accused from Vile Parle," said zonal DCP Dr. Vijaykumar Rathod.

It was an auto rickshaw driver whom the cops nailed from Vile Parle. Initially, he denied his role but during interrogation, he confessed to his crime and led the cops to nail the remaining accused in the case from Borivli, Ville Parle, Andheri, Mira Road and Nalasopara areas.

The arrested accused were identified Sameer Ketakr 38, Shailesh Pawar 36, Kundan Gavde 41, Ajay alas Anand Jadhav 40, Narendra Merchande 40, Santosh alas Pappu Dube 42, Rajendra Nishad 27, Altaf Kagdi alas Sameer 32, Anthony Vadkel 39, Babita Chavan 25 and Kunduni Bade 43, they were produced before the court today and remanded police custody till June 17 said DCP Dr Vinaykumar Rathod of Zone 12.

During interrogation, it was revealed that Ajay alias Anand Jadhav had tipped off about the financial status of Belvate to Dubey who hatched the plan with Altaf Kagdi to commit the offence with other accomplices.

Jadhav had worked for couple of years as a driver for the complainant's neighbour Dipak Bhai Shah but he left the job 6 months ago. He knew Belvate's financial status.

Jadhav had received information that Bselvate was to receive some money with regards to land and informed Altaf, who then hatched a plan. He along with his friends formed a team of 16 people posing as income tax officers in which he included two women to avoid any doubt. He arranged for two cars and an auto rickshaw which reached the complainant's building. The robbers entered the building flashing their fake IT officials' card to the security guard whom they took to Belvate's flat.

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It was the complainant's son who opened the door after which the robbers entered the house.
Their body language was so on point that there was no clue that they were fake IT officials. During the raid, the mastermind Altaf was seated in a car along with his wife Babita outside the building premises.

The women who were involved in the crime are still at large and going by their modus operandi, it cannot be ruled out that they have not committed such crimes in the past.

Three teams were formed to investigate the matter and taking help of CCTV footage and call records, our officials traced the accused, he further added.

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