Surat cops bust gang active in Gujarat, M'rashtra

SURAT: A five-member gang of criminals was caught by city police with a stolen car from Amroli-Kosad Road of the city on Tuesday evening. These robbers had looted two angadia firms in Udhna and Mahidharpura area in the last six months and escaped with a booty of Rs 13 lakh in cash. Members of this gang are involved in more than 10 major crimes in Gujarat and Maharashtra, including two in the city.
Talking to TOI, crime branch police inspector JM Patel said, "All the five are seasoned criminals and we have handed them over to Mahidharpura police as they need them for one case there. They will then be handed over to Udhna police."
Police sources said that following a tip-off from an informer, crime branch officials were waiting for a stolen Fiat car to pass from Amroli-Kosad Road. Five members of the gang — Babu Munjawar, 29, Thane, Maharashtra, Kesarali Khan, 38, of Dharavi, Sayan Mumbai, Mohammad Ansari, 29, of Dharavi Mumbai, Jabbarsingh alias Jeetlal Maurya, 36, of Mansarovar circle, Amroli, Surat, and Dharmesh Patel, 32, of Gandevi, Navsari were caught.
When interrogated, they confessed to two angadia loots in the city in December 2010. After stealing a car from Vasai, Mumbai this gang reached Jayanti Soma angadia firm on road no. 5 of Udhna and looted Rs 7 lakh at gunpoint. In March this year, they stole an Armada car from Thane district of Maharashtra and reached Mahidharpura. They then went to Dinesh Dashrath Angadia`s shop and again by pointing a gun stole Rs 6 lakh in cash.
Babulal, the king pin of the gang, looted Kolhapur branch of Navsari in 2001, stole cars and looted places in Pune, He has cases against him in Navsari, Pune and Kolhapur. He was sent to jail for seven years. Second member Kesarali was caught for crimes in a number of Mumbai police stations in 2005-06, Dharmesh Patel of Gandevi was caught for loot with murder in Navsari in 2007 and came in touch with Kesarali and Babulal in jail. Searching new targets in new city, the trio came to Surat and caught Jabbarsingh, a fruit vendor in 2007.
"This gang has a modus operandi of first stealing a car and then looting a place. They put a gun on head to scare people and then flee with cash. In 2007, they put a gun on the head of a person outside a bank in Dadar and robbed him of Rs 5 lakh in cash," said an official. Police expect the members to reveal more and are hopeful of cracking major offences of last five years.