In a significant breakthrough, the Kalyan crime branch has apprehended four members of the notorious Irani gang, believed to be behind at least 70 criminal cases spanning chain snatching, mobile theft, and vehicle robberies across various Mumbai suburbs including Bhiwandi, Thane, Badlapur, Ambarnath, Kalyan, and Shil Daighar. Police have successfully recovered stolen assets valued at over Rs50 lakh from the arrested individuals.
The detained gang members have been identified as Taufiq Tejib Hussain (29), Mohammad Ali alias Kalicharan Zaveri Ali (36), Abbas Sallu Jaffery (27), and Suraj alias Chotya Manoj Salunkhe (19).
According to police officials, the gang operated by traveling on motorcycles, wearing helmets, and targeting unsuspecting pedestrians to snatch mobile phones and gold ornaments.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Amarsingh Jadhav revealed that within Thane’s jurisdiction alone, the accused were responsible for 40 chain-snatching cases, 24 mobile thefts, and six vehicle thefts. In total, they have confessed to their involvement in 70 separate cases.
The breakthrough came when Kolsehwadi police in Kalyan, during an investigation into another case, uncovered one of the accused’s involvement in a series of other crimes. Acting on a tip-off, a police team, dressed in plain clothes, successfully apprehended the suspects in Ambivali after a brief scuffle.
Thane Crime ACP Shekhar Bagade explained, “All the accused were arrested following a significant effort. We are now investigating whether they are linked to additional crimes.”
The recovered stolen assets include 410 grams of gold chains, 24 mobile phones, six motorcycles, and one Maruti Swift, valued at ₹50.18 lakh. The accused are currently in police custody as further investigations continue.
Image Prompt: An image showing the four arrested gang members alongside the recovered stolen assets—gold chains, mobile phones, motorcycles, and a Maruti Swift—displayed on a police table.
