Surat: Udhna police have busted a gang allegedly involved in a series of mobile phone robberies and thefts, arresting five persons and solving five cases registered across Udhna, Pandesara and Althan police station jurisdictions.Police seized six stolen mobile phones, three mobile phones belonging to the accused and two motorcycles used in the crimes. The total value of the recovered property is estimated at Rs 1.68 lakh, police said.Udhna police inspector R M Thakor told TOI, “The accused targeted people in Udhna, Pandesara and Althan areas and robbed them of their mobile phones by threatening them with knives. We have arrested Mandeep Pal alias Babu (21), Jayesh Yadav alias Babu (18), Ravi Yadav alias Ravishankar alias Teniya (22), Vikas Pandey alias Chhotu (21) and Raju Goud (22). All five are originally from Uttar Pradesh and were residing in Pandesara and Bamroli.”Police said the gang’s involvement came to light following a tip-off received by the Udhna police surveillance team. Acting on the information, a team led by surveillance police sub-inspector V M Der apprehended the five accused.During the investigation, police detected four robbery cases and one theft case. Of these, one was registered at Udhna police station, three at Pandesara police station and one at Althan police station.The seized property includes two motorcycles worth Rs 90,000, six mobile phones valued at Rs 58,000 and three mobile phones belonging to the accused, worth Rs 20,000.“Preliminary investigation revealed that three of the five accused have criminal records. Mandeep has two cases registered against him at Vesu and Althan police stations, while Pandey has one case registered at Kadodara GIDC police station. Goud was booked by the Surat DCB police under the Arms Act,” Thakor said.Five cases detectedUdhna: A 27-year-old tailor, Shamim Shaikh, was robbed at around 4.30am on Nov 12, while waiting for a Rapido cab outside Udhna railway station. The accused arrived on two motorcycles, threatened him with a knife before robbing him.Pandesara: A 22-year-old Rapido driver, Anil Meena, was robbed on Nov 11 after three of the accused hired a car through Rapido from Surat railway station. The victim was also stabbed during the robbery.Althan: A 29-year-old man, Dharmesh Gamit, was tricked into losing his mobile phone near Palladium Hotel on VIP Road on Nov 14. The accused conspired to divert his attention and stole the phone.Pandesara: A 42-year-old autorickshaw driver, Javid Shaikh, was robbed by three members of the gang after picking them up from Sachin railway station. When the autorickshaw reached Kartik Awas in Pandesara, the accused stabbed and robbed him.Pandesara: A 55-year-old autorickshaw driver was stabbed and robbed of his mobile phone and cash on Nov 10. The accused had boarded his autorickshaw at Udhna railway station and attacked him near Tirupati Circle.
