Mumbai Crime: Tak-tak gang members arrested for robbing builder

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The MRA Marg police have arrested four tak-tak gang members from Trichy, Tamil Nadu, for stealing Rs 35,000 from a builder in Mumbai. The gang called 'tak-tak,' after members' modus operandi of knocking on the windows of vehicles to distract people, had stolen a leather bag near Bombay High Court in January 2018. It contained the cash and a pistol. While the bag and pistol were recovered within an hour, it took two months and violent opposition from their village for the police to arrest them.

Tak-tak on the window
The builder had gone to the Bombay High Court on January 23, 2018. His driver parked his Mercedes nearby. A person knocked on the window, and said something had fallen out of the car. The driver opened the door to check but finding nothing, sat in the car. When the builder came back, he saw his bag was stolen and immediately contacted the cops.

MRA Marg Senior Inspector Sukhlal Varpe said, "The bag was found on a car parked near Metro Cinema. The pistol was in it but the cash was missing."

Accused recognised
During investigation, the police found some of the accused were seen in CCTV footage around the spot. "The footage was shown to some accused using the same modus operandi, arrested by Pydhonie police," said a police officer from MRA police station. "They recognised the faces, revealing that they belonged to Trichy," added the officer.

The police zeroed in on Ramji Nagar, a small village in Trichy. "Last week we got the information that the accused might come there to celebrate Ugadi," said another police officer.

Villagers attack cops
However, the villagers started pelting stones when they came to know that Mumbai cops had come to arrest some of them. With the help of local cops, on March 18, MRA Marg police arrested four of the accused, Kittu Servai, Guru Servai, Kamal Servai and Bismar Servai (all unrelated). "They were involved in such crimes in Colaba, DB Marg. We are confident many such cases will be unearthed during interrogation," said Varpe. They have been booked under IPC sections 379 (theft) and 34 (common intention).

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