Smash-and-snatch gang busted by crime branch

Mumbai: Sleuths of the local crime branch (LCB) unit of Thane (rural) police have nabbed two members of the smash-and-snatch gang that gained notoriety in and around the area for stealing valuables from cars after breaking glass panes of windows.

The accused have been identified as Prakash Narendra Mandal alias Jainand (35) and Subhash Balkeshwar Mishr (31), both residents of Nalasopara in Palghar district. Alarmed by rising cases of thefts from parked cars, the LCB unit led by police inspector Vyenkat Andhale, under instructions of SP, Dr Mahesh Patil, intensified vigil and activated its informer network in the region.

One of the patrolling teams took the duo into custody on suspicion after the latter was spotted riding a bike, peeping into parked cars in Kashimira Wednesday night. Armed with CCTV camera images of some recent thefts, the police learned that one of the accused, Mandal, was a notorious thief involved in a series of similar crimes committed at Mira Road, Bhayandar and other areas in Thane, Palghar and Navi Mumbai.

Not ruling out the duo’s involvement in still other cases, police sub-inspector Pramod Badhak said, “After rounds of sustained interrogation, the duo as of now has confessed to their involvement in nine similar crimes committed by them under the jurisdiction of Kashimira, Naya Nagar, Mira Road, Kasarvadavli and Valiv police stations.”

Investigation also revealed that the accused spent their ill-gotten gains to fund an expensive lifestyle and addiction to liquor. Apart from impounding the bike which they used to commit the crimes, the police has also recovered eight high-end laptops, an iPad, a tab, and six mobile phones from them. Booked under relevant sections of the IPC, the duo has been remanded to custody. Further investigation is underway.