A 45-year-old Borivali resident who was on his way home was stopped in the middle of the road by three men, disguised as cops, near Vikhroli. On the pretext of “inspecting” his vehicle for official purposes, they stole his two mobile phones, a laptop and the car key – however, after 45 minutes, the victim’s wife gets a call saying all the aforementioned stolen items were being dumped at Mulund bridge.

The incident happened on Friday night when the victim, Ramesh Kantilal Gada, was travelling from Vashi to Borivali in his car, via the Eastern Express Highway. According to Gada, a vehicle was continuously following him, which was a car. Minutes later, when he reached Godrej Signal in Vikhroli (at EEH), the car overtook his vehicle and blocked the way in the front.

The False Inspection and Stolen Valuables

“There were five people in the vehicle that I noticed from outside. Three of them got down. They were wearing a mask which had the logo of Maharashtra Police, and they addressed themselves as cops. They told me to get out of the vehicle because they wanted to inspect my vehicle,” said Gada to FPJ on Sunday.

According to the police, the bogus cops told Gada that he was involved in an illegal business and some material from that business was in the vehicle. They told Gada that they received some tip-off about his business and hence wanted to search the vehicle.

The vehicle had a laptop bag, and Gada had two phones in his possession – they took all of it, including his car key. “They told me to come to the police station. By the time I was going towards their vehicle, they flew away,” added Gada.

Mysterious Dumping of Stolen Items

He then managed to call his brother, using help from passersby, to bring the spare keys to the car.

On the other side, Gada’s wife, 45 minutes after this incident, gets a call from a passerby who informs her that a bag has been found at the Mulund bridge, which has two mobiles, a laptop, and a car key in it. Gada’s wife informed her brother-in-law who first picked up Gada from Vikhroli, then proceeded to Mulund – followed by informing the police about the complete incident.

Perplexing Motive of the Unknown Assailants

The police are as perplexed as Gada as the motive of the unknown accused is unclear.

“I registered a first information report (FIR) and even provided the number of their vehicle. If it was robbery, the intent, I would still be relaxed, but the absence of any motive is worrying. In the past two months, I have experienced several such incidents where a car dashed my vehicle, and once a bike followed me and then tried to attack me. Three incidents, in Vikhroli, Borivali and Ghansoli (Navi Mumbai) – are now alarming. Hopefully, police can provide some answers,” said Gada, who suspects that it could be a matter of enmity but is not sure who and why.

The Vikhroli police have registered a case against unknown persons and have initiated the probe.

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