Six members of a Mumbai-based gang, including its kingpin, which used to commit robberies in metro cities before returning to their den, have been arrested, police said.
On Sunday, police had arrested two members of the gang after outsmarting them by flying in a team to Surat and nabbing them in a train while they were on their way to Mumbai after committing a dacoity in Kotwali area of North Delhi on November 7.
The CCTV cameras installed in Dariba Kalan area under the Business Area Watch Scheme (BAWS), based on the Surat Model helped the police to crack the case, said Delhi Police Commissioner B S Bassi.
The police had earlier arrested three persons of the gang identified as Mohammad Ahmed, Shamim Jafri and Raju. Shamim is the third generation of criminals in his family. His father Nashim Jafri is the kingpin of the gang and had a massive information racket and police again beat him at his own game.
Jafri and his son lived at a posh house on Mira road and traveled only by air. However, they used to travel by train in order to not reveal their identity when they set out to commit robbery.
"Nashim had a strong information network. Since arrested of his three associates, he kept on changing his location in Mumbai as he was told by his informers that the Delhi Police was in town to arrest him. In order to fool him, the police officers left from Mumbai on November 11 in a train.
"Nashim was informed by his sources that the Delhi police had left following which he returned to his house. Our team got off from the train on the next station and raided his house early morning and arrested him when he was sleeping," said Joint Commissioner of Police (Central Range) Sandeep Goel.
The incident had taken place on November 7 when a bag which contained Rs 4.75 lakh cash and gold ornaments worth over five lakhs (32 rings, four bangles, four diamond pieces) was snatched from Manoj Kumar Jain.
According to police, one of the accused, identified as Mohd Ahmed, was nabbed from the spot. He revealed that a Mumbai-based gang was behind the robbery.
Ahmed was only supposed to get Rs 10,000 and the main accused were returning to Mumbai via Dadar Express.
Meanwhile, police also identified the accused through the footage from CCTV cameras.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Madhur Verma then sent a team to Mumbai on November 8 via flight so that it reached there before the train's arrival and the robbers could be caught.
Meanwhile, investigators found one Badri in Hauz Kazi who had provided local logistics to the gang. He revealed that the accused did not board Dadar Express and instead took Pashchim Express which left Delhi 5 PM on November 8.
Verma then decided to send another team to Surat in Gujarat to intercept the criminals midway. Another team flew to Surat 7 AM November 9 and boarded the train at 10 AM. Armed with the CCTV grab of the thieves, the team searched the running train and nabbed Shamim Jafri and Raju and recovered Rs two lakh from them.
"This is a Mumbai-based gang, also known as Badshah gang of 7-8 members which used to commit robberies in Delhi, Kolkata, Indore and other cities. They used to visit the city for two-three days and hire local criminals for logistics. On the first day, they carefully Reece the locality and then commit loot the next day before fleeing to Mumbai," said Verma.
