5 Bangladeshi nationals arrested for looting cash, jewellery from Thane home

Amid the recent string of arrests, five more Bangladeshi nationals were arrested for an armed robbery in which cash and jewellery amounting to Rs 9.98 lakh was looted from a house in Kashimira locality in Bhayander, Thane.

According to preliminary investigations, police said, all five persons are Bangladeshi nationals. Three of them arrived in the country a few days ago by air while the other two came by train.

In the early hours of March 22, the armed group cut the grills of a house near Chena creek and, after tying up the residents, looted Rs 9.98 lakh in cash and valuables from them.

Following the incident, special police teams were formed and they had fanned out in different areas of the district to apprehend the criminals.

“Acting on a tip-off, a team led by senior inspector Venkat Andale and assistant inspector Pramod Badak of the Crime Branch yesterday kept vigil at a bridge between Vasai and Versova here and stopped a Chevrolet car. The tip-off was correct and police managed to arrest five persons from the car in connection with the March 22 incident,” a senior official told PTI today.

Four of them have been identified by the police as Mohammad Palsha Mohammad Ismail Hawaldar (32), Bappi Akbar Sheikh (27), Mohammad Latif Sheikh (31), Mohammad Akram Irfan Ali (28), all from Khulna area of Bangladesh.

The fifth, Lukman China Mian is from Bangladesh’s Sylhet,

“Their involvement in other incidents of a similar nature is being investigated. They were produced before a magistrate who remanded them in police custody till April 2,” the official said.

Earlier this week, a Palghar court sentenced a 54-year-old Bangladeshi national to two years rigorous imprisonment for staying in the country without a valid passport.

Additionally, the Maharashtra ATS has arrested over 40 Bangladeshi nationals staying in the country illegally in the last two weeks.