Robbers juggle faith to mislead policemen

Accused talked about namaaz at crime scene to give false impression about their religious identity

Robbers juggle faith to mislead policemen

Accused talked about namaaz at crime scene to give false impression about their religious identity

A gang of robbers tried to mislead victims and cops into believing they were Muslims, by deliberately talking about namaaz during the crime.

The Crime Branch officials busted the gang by arresting two accused, Sanjay Balu Dakwe (23) and Tukaram Yashwant Mhetre, both Hindus living at Mankhurd in connection with a robbery in Kalbadevi last week.

Though Dakwe and his aides managed to outsmart the investigators who were pursuing the case, they ran out of luck on Sunday.

Based on the information provided by the victims that they overheard the robbers saying, "Jaldi karo, namaaz padna hai," the police were led to assume that the criminals were Muslims.

According to the police, Dakwe, an ex-employee of a Kalbadevi-based jeweller, decided to teach his employer a lesson as the businessman had sacked him six months ago.

He not only chalked out a meticulous robbery plan along with three other aides, but also had enough brains to mislead the investigators.

A senior officer involved in the investigations said, "The duo, Maharashtrian Hindus, has confessed they deliberately talked about getting late for namaaz during the crime as they wanted to mislead the police into believing that they were Muslims."

To put a curb on the spurt of heists in the area, Senior Inspector Nishikant Patil of Unit 2 of the Crime Branch formed a special squad.

"A manhunt was launched for several Muslim criminals before we stumbled upon the new modus operandi," Patil said.

"We have arrested the two and handed them over to the LT Marg police station as the robbery took place under their jurisdiction," added Patil.

During last week's heist, the robbers had attacked two employees, Jitendra Hausila Pandey (32) and Chandrabhan Tiwari (39), with choppers, and forced them to open the safe from where they cleaned out
Rs 5 lakh in cash, 1 kg silver bar worth Rs 47,000, and two mobile phones, together valued at Rs 22,000.