Nagpur crime branch raids 18 spots, seizes goods worth Rs 30.85 lakh

Nagpur city police's crime branch carried out coordinated raids at 18 locations across the city on September 8 and 9, naming 21 accused, including several who were wanted, and recovering property worth more than Rs 30.85 lakh. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Deepak Agrawal supervised the exercise, in which multiple teams struck simultaneously against gambling, illegal liquor, banned weapons, vehicle theft, stolen vehicle parts, house breaking and banned nylon kite string. Officers said the drive was meant to tighten the pressure on organised illegal activity across the city.

The Social Security squad and the Anti Human Trafficking Unit acted on a tip off in Yashodhara Nagar and seized 180 pieces of banned mono kite nylon manja valued at around Rs 5.40 lakh. The same raid yielded an e rickshaw worth Rs 1.20 lakh, a Suzuki moped worth Rs 75,000 and a mobile phone worth about Rs 10,000, taking the value of goods recovered at this one spot to Rs 7.45 lakh. One person was booked, while Faizan Ansari was named as a wanted accused in the case.

In an "all out" drive in the Kapilnagar area, the Anti Vehicle Theft squad recovered 30 to 40 engines and assorted spare parts of different vehicles, put at a value of around Rs 30 lakh, along with a truck bearing registration MH-40-BG-4937. Police invoked Section 124 of the Maharashtra Police Act in this case.

The same squad also cracked a stolen travel bus case in the Beltarodi police station area, taking two accused into custody and recovering a Tata minibus; action here was taken under Section 303(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. In the Gittikhadan area, Unit 6 of the crime branch caught a wanted accused in a house breaking case and recovered silver jewellery worth about Rs 16,000 from him, with relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita applied.

Five separate raids against gambling in Ranapratap Nagar, Sakkardara, Sadar, Hudkeshwar and Nandanvan led to six people being caught with cash and gambling material. Five more raids targeted the illegal liquor trade in Sakkardara, Gittikhadan, Khaparkheda, Kapilnagar and other localities, recovering liquor worth several thousand rupees. In the Wadi and Imamwada areas, two men found carrying large iron knives were arrested under the laws governing illegal weapons.

Two preventive actions were also taken in the Lakadganj area under Section 122(A) of the Maharashtra Police Act against people found in suspicious circumstances. Taken together, the two days of raids touched almost every police station zone in the city. Police said the drive against crime and illegal activity in Nagpur would continue and be stepped up further in the days ahead.