Three snatch 15 mobile phones in a day in Matunga, minor among accused

Sameer, alias Golden Imran Sheikh, and Arif Gulam Rasool Sheikh, alias Shimbu

Shivaji Nagar police have nabbed three persons, including a minor for allegedly snatching 15 mobile phones of morning walkers on February 2. The accused rode triple seat and targeted the walkers at Matunga's Five Gardens. They snatched 11 mobile phones, including that of a police officer. The police traced the accused, arrested them and handed them over to Matunga police.

On February 2, early morning, the walkers rushed to Matunga police station complaining about the mobile phone theft. All the complainants informed the police that snatchers were riding a bike triple-seat. The CCTV footage revealed that the accused had come from the Sewri. In the meantime, two more mobile snatching instances were reported at the RAK Marg police station.

Senior inspector Deepak Chavhan formed a dedicated team comprising assistant inspector Yunus Sheikh and sub-inspector Bharat Gurav to probe the case. "During the initial investigation, it was found that after snatching mobile phones from Matunga, they stole phones at Nehru Nagar and Chembur," an officer said.

Thieves were traced

The CCTV footage showed the movement of the bikers but they went untraceable after going towards Govandi. Matunga police informed Shivaji Nagar police station about the incident. However, they failed at locating the thieves too. "We were keeping an eye on the bikers as they were caught on CCTV. On February 8, Shivaji Nagar cops received a tip-off about the snatchers, they immediately rushed and picked three persons" added an officer from Matunga police station.

Most phones recovered

Sameer, alias Golden Imran Sheikh, 18, Arif Gulam Rasool Sheikh, alias Shimbu, 21, and a 16-year-old boy have been held. Arif, the rider of the bike, and Sameer were booked earlier by the Chembur and Shivaji Nagar police for similar offences. Matunga police took the custody of the accused from Shivaji Nagar Police station on February 9 and booked them under section 392 (robbery) of the Indian Penal Code.

"Eleven mobile phones from Matunga, two in RAK and one in Nehru Nagar were snatched within two hours from 6.30am to 8.30am. The accused mainly targeted morning walkers. Recovery of most of the phones have been made, rest of the phones will be recovered soon" said Deepak Chavhan, senior inspector of Matunga police station. All accused are in police custody, while the minor was sent to a children's home by Juvenile Justice Board," he added.