Probe in right direction, will nail culprits: Cops

The Navi Mumbai police department claimed that the investigation was heading in the right direction and the gang of thieves are in their radar. The 10 police teams are aiming to recover a major chunk of the stolen property but fear it would be damaged by the thieves by melting it. The police suspect involvement of notorious tribal gang members from Jharkhand involved in similar house breaking theft cases across the country.

A senior police officer from Navi Mumbai police crime branch, on the condition of anonymity, said, “Looking at the previous modus operandi of the gang from Jharkhand, the tribals living in the Naxal-affected areas are prone to indulge in such activities and it becomes difficult to trace them in the interior of the jungles. Our teams have reached Jharkhand and are monitoring the activities of the thieves.”

“Earlier too, the gang members have melted gold jewellery to destroy evidence and claim innocence in court. We are tracking the gang members and collecting information through our informers. CCTV camera footage has also given us a few leads in the case and we are questioning a few people suspected to be involved into the crime. We have a database of Jharkhand gang members and are trying to collect further evidence.”

Sudhakar Pathare, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone 1, said, “The thieves are under our radar and we will soon nail them and recover the stolen booty. Ten teams of the detection branch have been formed and the crime branch is also conducting a parallel probe into the case.”

“The investigations are moving in the right directions and further probe will be conducted”, said Pathare.