MCOCA for 68 chain-snatchers, jeweller in Thane

MCOCA for 68 chain-snatchers, jeweller in Thane

Thane: Cracking down on chain-snatchers and robbers who have been brazenly striking even during the day, the Thane police have invoked the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA) against 68 suspected robbers and a jeweller from Kalyan for buying stolen ornaments and aiding in disposing of evidence.
    Additional commissioner of police Milind Bharambe (crime) said this was the first time that such a large number of robbers would face action under MCOCA and that they had decided to invoke the Act as the suspects were are all part of “well-networked and professional” gangs. Under MCOCA, the accused will not be able to access bail for around six months and if charge sheeted and convicted, the maximum punishment will be life imprisonment, should any of their victims be injured during robbery.
    According to Bharambe, three gangs have spread terror on Thane streets, snatching chains and robbing mostly women and senior citizens. The bigger gang is led by Sikander Mumtaz Kasamali Jafri who has 35 members, including 15 women, working for him. A resident of Iranipada in Bhiwandi, Jafri was arrested by the Wagle Estate police in June. During interrogations, he revealed the names of his gang members; based on his information, the police recovered 3.5kg gold and 92 chains from his associates. The police said 129, the maximum number of chainsnatching cases, were registered against the gang.
    The MCOCA has also been invoked against Kirankumar Swami Chettiar of Ghansoli in Navi Mumbai who leads a group of 18 members all of whom snatch chains and they target their victims as they
come riding on motorcycles. A total of 125 cases have been registered against the group. The third gangster to be booked is Raischand Mogal, a resident of Ambivli near Kalyan, whose 13-member gang is said to be involved in 51 cases. “Most the accused have been arrested. We are gathering evidence and will seek the sanction of police commissioner K P Raghuvanshi to file charges against them,” Bharambe told TOI.
    In the past nine months, close to 447 incidents of chain-snatching have been reported in the Thane police commissionerate area.