Mumbai: Film City goons booked under stringent MCOCA

Rohit Kasare and Navnvel Chalakkan Harijan, the accused

The Dindoshi police have charged two known criminals under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) for spreading terror in the Film City area for several years. The accused deceived and instilled fear in tourists including foreign nationals, and drivers of vehicles arriving for film shootings, robbing them at knifepoint.

Last month, following a complaint by an auto-rickshaw driver, the Dindoshi police apprehended Rohit Kasare, 34, and Navnvel Chalakkan Harijan, 45. Kasare has a criminal record with 30 serious crimes, leading to his externment for two years by the Dindoshi police. Harijan has more than 12 serious crimes on record.

"Both are residents of Santosh Nagar in Goregaon East and were actively involved in criminal activities in Film City. They targeted tourists and drivers, robbing them at knifepoint. Given their extensive criminal history, the additional commissioner of the north region police initiated action under the supervision of the Dindoshi Division ACP. The investigation was carried out by Senior Inspector Jeevan Kharat, API Chandrakant Gharge, and API Y D Inamadaar, resulting in the filing of an MCOCA charge sheet against the duo last week," stated an officer from Dindoshi police station.

In a previous case, Kasare and his associate Denzil Fernandes (aka Denzo) were booked and arrested by Dindoshi police last year. The duo, posing as guides for a Film City tour, duped two foreign nationals and a Guwahati resident, demanding Rs 1,500 to show them around. Instead of a Film City tour, the accused took them to the forest area of Aarey Colony in an auto-rickshaw. The Guwahati-based businessman, Hit Faruqur Faizurrahman, later filed a police complaint, leading to the registration of a case and the subsequent arrest of the duo on January 18, 2023.

30
No of cases registered against one of the accused