64-year-old Rohit Desai and his wife Mamta (58) instantly sensed the threat to their lives. "I pleaded with them to take everything and leave us, but they grabbed me by the throat. At first, I thought they were going to rape me, but they snatched my necklace and earrings and grabbed my bag with such force that it fractured my finger. They threw rocks at my husband's head and I begged them to just leave and stop hurting us, but they didn't stop. They were nothing less than animals," said Mamta, a BMC schoolteacher who was looking forward to soon joining her husband in retirement. Rohit is currently battling for his life in the ICU.
Rohit Desai (64) and his wife Mamta (58) bumped into the crooks in their building lobby around 2.30 am. Illustrations/Uday Mohite
Once the gang fled, Mamta called their relative for help, and he called the police control to report the crime.
150 cops responded to the wireless alert that was sent out; both cops and the goons got injured in the cross-fire.
By the end of the manhunt, the cops had arrested four of the gang members.
Meanwhile, as the goons were making their escape around 2.45 am or so, PI Manohar Hindlekar (Borivli police station) spotted them while he was on a routine night patrol. Simultaneously, he received an alert on the wireless about the senior citizens who were assaulted by the same gang. The inspector immediately called for back up and gave chase. The entire operation lasted over seven hours, and 150 cops from various police stations hunted down the culprits as they escaped into the nearby Shimpoli marshes.
The couple encountered the gang in their building lobby, just as the goons were sneaking off after a double burglary there.
150 cops combed the Shimpoli marshes for over seven hours on Monday morning, arresting four men. (Pics/Sayyed Sameer Abedi)
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Rohit Desai was admitted at Saifee Hospital with several head injuries and is currently in the ICU. "The patient was fully conscious post the assault but while being brought to the hospital, he lost consciousness, before which he had also vomited twice. He has four large cuts on his head. His condition is very critical and we have kept him on ventilator support," said Dr Suresh Sankhla, consulting neurosurgeon at Saifee.
>> SPI Gunaji Sawant
>> API G Gharge
>> PSI Sachin Parodwad
>> Constable Sachin Rege
>> Constable Gurav
>> Constable Patil
Dr Krishna Pimple, medical superintendent of Shatabdi Hospital, said that while the accused, Ashok Shinde, sustained a fracture in his right leg from the bullet, he is stable. Four police officials have been posted - two outside the ward and two by his bed - to keep an eye on Shinde.
The chaddi-banyan gang usually strikes in rural areas, but for the past few months, they have been targeting suburban areas. In the past week itself, the gang hit houses at Mira Road, MHB, Borivli and other areas. Two separate offences have been registered and the matter is under investigation under supervision of DCP Vikram Deshmane, Zone XI, police added.
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