Sword-wielding robbers target truck in Virar, injure owner, driver

In the second highway armed robbery incident in Virar that has been reported in two days, four motorcycle-borne men on Wednesday morning assaulted the owner and driver of a truck with swords, sickles and knives and looted `25,000 in cash from the former along with two cellphones. The victims had halted the truck near Sakwar village on the busy Mumbai-Ahmedabad National Highway as its silencer had broken down.

After the incident, the victims and locals searched the jungles for the robbers where they found an accused — identified as Mumbra resident Mohammed Arif Mukin Khan (23) — hiding, and after giving him a thrashing, they handed him over to the Virar police. The other three accused are absconding. The Virar police has recovered a Unicorn which was used by one of the accused, and it is reportedly a stolen vehicle.

One of the absconding accused has been identified as Jaganath, said PI Yunus Sheikh of the Virar police. “We have arrested Khan under Section 394 (theft) and he was remanded in police custody when produced before the Vasai court on Wednesday,” he said.

According to the owner of the truck, Surendra Yadav (34), the vehicle was on its way to Valsad in Gujarat from Pune with a truckload of cargo.

Mr Shaikh said that driver Hemant Ahir (32) halted the truck at Sakwar village around 1.45 am. It was then when the bandits emerged and threatened Ahir (32) and Yadav, demanding money from the latter. However, Yadav put on a brave front and received moral support from Ahir.

However, the gang inflicted sword injuries on the duo’s hands and backs and, within seconds, decamped with the money and cellphones on two motorcycles after warning the victims of dire consequences. “However, the victims and some locals decided to search out the dacoits and, after a few minutes, found Khan hiding in the bushes in the jungle. The locals surrounded him and gave him a sound thrashing,” said Mr Shaikh.

One of the locals had called us and we reached the spot and took away Khan before he could be lynched by the mob, said the official. We also recovered a bike — a Unicorn model — which was used in the crime, and it is stolen, he added.

The victims were treated at the Primary Health Centre (PHC) at Virar.

A similar incident had occurred at the same spot — Sakwar — in Virar on Saturday night, when Chabila Yadav (27) a trucker was looted of `13,000 and his mobile was robbed by the highway dacoits, who also assaulted him savagely. While the terrified Yadav did not report the incident to the Virar police, he has confirmed the same to this newspaper. “I was scared that the dacoits would target me if I registered a complaint with the police, as I regularly take the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route to deliver cargo,” he said. The Virar police said the Saturday night that the same gang behind the Wednesday’s incident could be involved in the recent armed robbery.

“We are investigating the matter,” said Mr Shaikh.