Mumbai: Three held for abducting and robbing men by posing as CBI officers

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The Kherwadi police have arrested the trio who allegedly abducted, assaulted and robbed four men while posing as Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officers on November 1. The police said one of the complainants, who was involved in the conspiracy and planned the robbery with his associates, has also been arrested.

The arrested accused have been identified as Alim Patel, 49; Javed Kazi, 50; Imran Khatri, 41; and Mohammed Rihan, 27. One Wasif Jabbar Ali - said to be the mastermind - was absconding and the police had launched a search operation only to learn that he is in hiding in Dubai. Police sources said Mohammed Rihan was on his way to the airport to board a flight to Dubai along with Mohammed Imran Sayyed, 26; Mohiuddin Aijaz, 29; and Mohammed Dhiyar, 26, at the time of the incident.

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The complainants had taken a taxi from Bhendi Baazar in South Mumbai and reached the WEH via the sea link when a car approached them from behind near Kherwadi around 9.10 pm. A person sitting inside the vehicle brought the taxi to a halt by waving a baton. The passengers were then taken to Goregaon and robbed of cash, including foreign currency, worth about Rs 7 lakh. The victims were then thrown out of the car.

Under the guidance of DCP Dixit Gedam, Zone VIII, a team was formed under the supervision of Senior Inspector Rajendra Mulik, who instructed Police Inspector Meghna Burande and Assistant Inspector Ganpat Ganeshkar.

An officer of the Kherwadi police station said, "With the help of CCTV footage, we traced the car. Finally, we got clues about Alim Patel and caught him from Mira Road on November 19," said an officer. "Looking at their modus operandi, it seems they may have committed a similar crime in the past. All the accused were remanded in judicial custody," said another officer.