Thane police on Friday arrested four pickpockets that allegedly picked pockets of people during political programmes.
The police arrested the four near a hotel in Shilphata area of Thane and recovered 10 cellphones, Rs 1,19,000 and a car from them. The four accused belong to Malegaon and had travelled to Thane for Jan Ashirwad Yatra organised by Union Minister Kapil Patil in different parts of Maharashtra.
The accused have been identified as Abbukar Usman Ansari (35), Nadit Ansari (30), Ateek Ahmed (51) and Ashfaq Ansari (38). The four have 12 cases registered against them in different police stations of Nasik, Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, police said.
The arrests came after many Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers had filed complaints regarding the theft of their cellphones and cash during Jan Ashirwad Yatra. The police inspected the footage of the rally and found four suspicious people. They retrieved the mobile numbers of these people and traced their location.
According to the police, the modus operandi of the thieves is to rob people in crowded places like weddings, parties and political programmes. The thieves use blades to cut the pockets of people and steal their cellphones and cash.
( With inputs from ANI )
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