Mumbai: The Mankhurd police busted a gang of robbers who used to attack auto-rickshaw passengers with pocketknives while posing as passengers. Among the accused is a rickshaw driver who operated on a sharing route and took five passengers at a time, including three of his accomplices.
The arrested accused have been identified as Zakir Ali alias Lutera Shaikh (21), Haider Ali (20), Zaveri Shaikh alias Mujahid (20) and Mohammad Faizal Qureshi alias Java (19). The police said that Zakir is the rickshaw driver who used to operate from a share-a-rickshaw stand.
The modus operandi of the accused was that they used to wait for one or two commuters, after which three of their accomplices used to occupy the rickshaw. After covering some distance, Zakir used to look for an isolated spot, where the robbers, posing as passengers, pushed the victim out after intercepting the rickshaw.
“They would then rob the passenger of his/her belongings at knifepoint and flee from the spot. In many cases, they even attacked passengers on their arms and back with pocketknives,” said an officer of Mankhurd police station.
On investigation, the officials found that they have 10 similar cases committed in the Govandi-Mankhurd belt.
