NEW DELHI: Delhi Police crime branch has arrested four men for stealing mobile phones during the ‘Lalbaugcha Raja’ Ganesh idol immersion and other visarjan sites in Mumbai. A total of 45 high-end mobile phones were recovered. According to the police, the gang, which operated in multiple modules, used to target processions and densely crowded gatherings. These stolen mobile phones were to be transported and sold in Nepal, a senior police officer said.
The kingpin, Mohannad Shakil, a resident of Kanpur, along with his associates, had travelled to Mumbai to commit large-scale thefts. Intelligence suggested they would return to Delhi by train from Mumbai. Police mapped the location of the suspects’ mobile numbers against trains arriving from Mumbai, and four people with 45 high-end mobile phones were nabbed, DCP(crime) Vikram Singh said.
The accused have been identified as Mohammad Shakil (49), Mohammad Shafiq (34), Shamshul Hasan (40), and Dilshad (36). The stolen mobiles were usually taken to Rupriya, UP, where they were sold to one Rijwan (now residing in Nepal) through his brother Shoib, said police.