Criminals turn tech-savvy to evade arrest

The anti-social elements are, now, increasingly becoming techsavvy to avoid falling into police trap. Despite knowing all the hideouts of the criminals, the police still find it difficult to immediately nab them because the seasoned criminals, especially robbers, kidnappers, drug lords and others, have installed Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras around their dens to track the movement of law enforcement agencies.

The officials from Mumbai crime branch were vexed, recently, when they got to know the bank robbers had installed CCTV cameras around their hideouts and the movement of police was monitored on their smartphones with the help of internet-supported mobile application.

“The criminals have now adopted latest technologies and social media to evade arrest. They switch off their regular cellphones and switch over to a new number to remain connected with their accomplices on WhatsApp chat or call. In the reverse trend, now the criminals have started tracking our movements on CCTV cameras which are strategically positioned. And with the help of Internet Protocol (IP) address, they view live streaming from CCTVs on their smartphones to see if the hunting police have reached their hideouts,” an IPS officer told the Free Press Journal requesting anonymity.

Mumbai police got to know about the new modus operandi of law breakers while interrogating three bank robbers, who kept evading their arrest for several days as one of them, Mohammad Jasim Shaikh, was keeping track on police movements on his smartphone.

With the help of his brother and nephew, Shaikh had looted Rs 8.5 lakh from a bank in Pydhonie. After the crime, the trio had gone underground but kept their surveillance on to track the police movement. Shaikh had installed CCTVs to check if the investigators have reached his homes in Nalasopara and Mira Road.

Early this year, the Dindoshi police had arrested five members of a family who were into drug peddling business. The gang leader Geeta Parmar had installed CCTV cameras on the lane leading to her house in Santosh Nagar of Dindoshi, Malad (East) where she was running drug business with her daughter, sonin-law and others.

In a bid to avoid attention, Parmar had covered the CCTV cameras with sacks, plastic, etc but the lenses were kept unhindered for wide surveillance.

Inside her house, she had made a control room to monitor the movements of police. Whenever police carried out raids at her house, Parmar would come out, tear her own cloths and start shouting to make allegations of molestation. In the meantime, rest of the members would get time to hide the drugs.

The anti-social elements have installed CCTV cameras around their dens to track the movement of law enforcement agencies