Mumbai Police Arrest Machine: The Mumbai Crime Branch has arrested a 53-year-old accused in a robbery case since 2018. Police said Mehboob Shaikh alias Prashant More was allegedly involved in eight cases of robbery and dacoity registered against him in South Mumbai. Sheikh was the leader of a gang whose members called him ‘Machine’. Police nabbed him after tracing his whereabouts in Navi Mumbai, where he had shifted from South Mumbai and was working as a delivery boy with a food chain company.
Sheikh used to run a gang of six to seven people and they allegedly targeted people in crowded places, especially Pidhoni, LT Marg and VP Road. He was hiding in Navi Mumbai since 2018, when he along with his team looted Rs 2 lakh from one Narayan Solanki on April 11, 2018 under the jurisdiction of LT Marg police station. In Solanki’s case, LT Marg police station had arrested five accused, but the main accused Sheikh was absconding. Shaikh used to live in Grant Road but soon after the heist, he shifted to Kharghar in Navi Mumbai.
used to loot like this
A Crime Branch official said that Crime Branch Unit-2 officials had recently received information about Shaikh’s whereabouts. Based on information, a police team visited his residence in Navi Mumbai and arrested him. Describing Sheikh’s modus operandi, a police officer said that Sheikh used to roam around the crowded places in Pydhonie and LT Marg with five to six companions. He used to identify his target first. Which are usually people who have huge amounts of cash with them. Then three people started walking with the victim by surrounding him from his left, right and back. After some distance, others used to join them.
There are many cases registered against the accused
Chavan said that taking advantage of the crowd, Shaikh used to snatch the bag from the victim and he used to give it to his accomplices one by one to confuse the victim and in the meanwhile, one of Shaikh’s accomplices ran away with the bag. Five cases were registered against Sheikh and his associates at Pidhoni police station, while three cases of robbery were registered at LT Marg police station between 2012, 2015 and 2018. The official said Sheikh was handed over to LT Marg police station on Thursday evening for further legal process.
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