Irani gang leader, wanted for chain snatchings, arrested from Mumbai

He had escaped from cops in July while being brought to Bengaluru

An Irani gang leader, who had escaped when the car in which he was being brought to Bengaluru met with an accident near Tumakuru in July, has been arrested. The Pune City Crime Branch apprehended Ali Akram, 26, a resident of Loni Kalbhor, a village on the Pune-Solapur highway, in Mumbai, about two weeks ago.

“He was hiding at Ambabari area in Mumbai after he escaped from Tumakuru on July 21. The Pune police claimed that they detected nine crimes committed by Akram after his interrogation. Akram’s custody ends on September 6. The CCB police will seek his custody based on a body warrant for interrogation regarding chain snatchings that he committed in Bengaluru city,” a senior police officer told DH.

“The CCB police had shared information about Akram with Pune police after he had fled from Tumakuru. The Pune police were tipped-off about Akram hiding at Ambabari, where a large number of Irani gang members live,” he added.

Akram leads a gang at Loni Kalbhor, which he visits once in six months. He has a network of jewellery shop owners. He pledges the stolen ornaments with them. He is an expert in committing two specific crimes -- chain snatching and robbery by diverting attention -- said the police.

Akram has committed more than 58 chain snatchings in Pune. The CCB police suspected that he committed more than 25 chain snatchings in Bengaluru between January and February this year. He was also involved in robberies committed by diverting attention in the city around the same time. He was involved in similar crimes in Andhra Pradesh and several parts of Maharashtra, said the police. The city police had constituted special teams to nab the Irani gang members after the number of chain snatchings shot up early this year. Akram and his accomplice had robbed a woman of her gold chain in Sanjaynagar. The duo were absconding on a black Pulsar mobike which was captured by a CCTV camera in Sanjaynagar. The police established Akram’s identity based on the CCTV footage, said the police.