Cops warn jewellers about interstate gang, ask them to hire armed guards TERI to launch eco-city forum with civic body

Almost a month after a shop in Bhiwandi was robbed of smartphones, 248 hi-end phones worth around Rs34 lakh were stolen from a warehouse.

On Monday around 2am, a warehouse at Mankoli naka in Dapoda was broken into and the phones stolen. The warehouse owner Mohan Suvarna, 56, deals in supplying mobile phones. He lodged a complaint.

The police said two robbers made a hole in the wall and entered the warehouse.

D Shivthare, senior police inspector from Narpoli police station, said: “This is the second robbery in the same area and we have increased patrolling.”

“We had going through the CCTV footage and we have detained one person. The watchman of the warehouse couldn’t know about the theft as accused made a hole in the wall in the back side. We are suspecting that the accused are from Bhiwandi,” said Shivthare.

This is the second case in a month.

On July 5, a warehouse at Ovli village in Narpoli-Bhiwandi was robbed of 219 smartphones worth Rs29.45 lakh. Six accused were arrested. The police have recovered some of the phones. One accused is still absconding and that he is suspected to be in Kashmir. Shops selling rakhis at APMC market see a lot of customers. Raksha Bandhan will be celebrated on August 18.

After the Kopar Khairane police received a tipoff from the inspector general’s office in Mumbai, stating that a gang of interstate robbers had come to the city, the police organised a meeting on Tuesday to alert more than 70 jewellers.

“We learnt that the gang roams the city in groups of eight to ten. All its members are professional housebreakers. They are habitual offenders and use four-wheelers and two-wheelers to commit crimes,” said Satish Gaikward, senior police inspector from Kopar Khairane police station. The jewellers were asked to install CCTV cameras inside and outside their shops.

“They should install nightvision cameras which have a good storage capacity. CCTV cameras are needed not only by jewellers, but by all public and private buildings,” Gaikwad said.

The jewellers were asked to hire security guards who have a weapons licence to man their shops 24x7.

They were also asked to start carrying out complete verifications of potential employees before hiring them and to submit their documents and the fingerprints to the police.

“Installing sirens to alert people and shopkeepers nearby is also a good idea. The jewelers should also keep their jewellery in bank lockers instead of in the store,” Gaikward said.

“We have asked our officials to increase patrolling in areas where there are several jewellery stores. However, jewellers must also be alert to prevent such crimes. We will hold more meetings soon,” he added.

The Energy & Resources Institute (TERI) will launch of the Eco-city forum on Friday. The forum is a part of the eco-city project initiated by TERI in collaboration with the NMMC in 2012.

The forum is targeted towards building a dialogue among all stakeholders of citizens, architects, builders, engineers, city officials, mediapersons and others.

Anjali Parasnis, associate director, TERI, said: “It will be done through stimulating round table discussions, events, exhibitions, and panel discussions to achieve the objectives of reducing the carbon footprint of the city by 30% over the next 5 to10 years.”

She added, “It is also aimed to help conserve the natural resources, making Navi Mumbai one of the leading sustainable cities of India.”

This event is open for all the citizens.

A handbook on water conservation will be launched by municipal commissioner Tukaram Mundhe at the the inaugural event.

BACHCHAN KUMAR