Thane: 5 held for killing driver, looting truck in Feb

Mumbai: Five persons have been arrested for allegedly killing a 35-year-old truck driver and looting the consignment in Thane district in February, the police said Monday.

Thane police superinte-ndent (rural) Shivaji Rathod said that they tracked down the accused through CCTV footages, and finally picked them up Sunday from various places.

At 11 am on February 26, an abandoned truck was found at Bhiwandi Gangaram Pada near Shangrila resort, Vadpe village. Residents found a body on the cleaner’s seat.

SP Rathod then ordered crime branch officers to conduct a parallel inquiry. The police got information from its sources and checked CCTV footage of the highway.

The Bhiwandi police booked the accused Mohammad Azmal Vasi Ahmed Shaikh, Mohammad Shakhir Riaz Ahmed Shaikh, Jahanjeb Amin Khan, Imran Ali Khan and Kaif Ahmed Altaf Shaikh, all in their 30s, under various sections including 302 (murder), 396 (dacoity with murder), 34 (common intention) etc. of the IPC. They are all reside-nts of Mumbai and Bhi-wandi in Thane district.

Upon interrogation, the accused told the police that Kaif Shaikh had given the other accused Rs 10,000 in advance to bring cement blocks. On February 26, they found a truck carrying cement blocks. They stopped the truck and found that its driver, Subhash Yadav, was their acquaintance. The accused then asked him for a lift. While heading towards Gujarat, the accused stopped the truck at Vadpe village and then hit Yadav with an iron rod on his head. They unlo-aded 951 blocks worth over Rs 64,000 from the truck and parked the truck near Shangrila resort.