Mumbai Crime: Doctor looted by fake gangsters

In a kidnapping and robbery incident, two crooks pulled a fast one on a city-based doctor last week, convincing him they were henchmen of crime boss Chhota Rajan, and looted him of Rs 10,000. The duo threatened to shoot him if he did not comply.

However, the doctor seems to have had the last laugh, as the Juhu police apprehended one of the accused within a week of the incident and are currently on the hunt for his accomplice. On June 1, Dr Prateek Agarwal had just finished getting petrol at the Lotus Petrol Pump in Oshiwara when two goons forcibly got into his car as he was waiting at a signal.

They threatened him saying they were from Chhota Rajan's gang and claimed they were armed and would shoot him if he didn't follow their instructions. Agarwal panicked and simply drove as per the duo's orders, until they reached Kaifi Azmi Park in Juhu, where the crooks tied Agarwal up, snatched Rs 10,000 and two of his ATM cards and fled.

Once Agarwal had managed to untie himself, he went to the Juhu police station and lodged an FIR. According to police sources, a manhunt was launched for the duo based on descriptions given by Agarwal. "With the help of a reliable tip-off we came to know that one of the two kidnappers was in the Masjid Bunder locality. We laid a trap, nabbed him. He has been identified as Shivpal Singh," said a cop from the Juhu police station.

The accused is 35 years old and hails from Uttar Pradesh. He had moved to Mumbai recently. The cops found no connection between him and Chhota Rajan, and did not recover any guns from him either. Singh confessed to the crime and revealed that he needed quick money, due to which he committed the act.

Singh was charged under Sections 361 (kidnapping), 390 (robbery), 506 (2) (criminal intimidation) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code, and was remanded in police custody till June 15. The cops are still on the hunt for his accomplice.