On 19th July 2023, the Muzaffarnagar police in Uttar Pradesh resolved the incidents of mobile phone theft in the ongoing Kanwar Yatra by exposing a gang of Muslim thieves who dressed up as Kanwariyas to enter Kanwar camps to steal the mobile phones of Hindu devotees. The operation was carried out by the Civil Lines police station of Muzaffarnagar. Five accused Muslim thieves were arrested and 100 mobile phones were recovered from their possession. The arrested accused are identified as Mohammad Bhura, Mohammad Ali, Irshad, Shahzad, and Abid.
Providing more information about this operation, SP City of Muzaffarnagar told, “An operation was carried out by the Civil Lines police station under the leadership of ASP City. Kanwariyas came to the district from various places and stayed in the Kanwar camps there. A gang of vicious thieves started stealing the mobile phones of the Kanwariyas. Members of this gang stole more than 100 mobile phones. When the Kanwariyas complained to the police that the mobile phones are being stolen, we took this matter very seriously. Teams were made to arrest these thieves and we have received some information about this.”
He added, “The Civil Lines police station has arrested five accused in this case. All of them are residents of Muzaffarnagar only. These accused would dress up like a Kanwariya and enter the Kanwar camp at the time when the devotee Kanwariyas would be sleeping, and then they used to steal the mobile phones of the devotees. We have recovered 100 mobile phones from their possession today.”
The officer added, “When interrogated, these accused informed their modus operandi in detail and we have also checked the history of their past criminal records. Some of them are already booked in various cases in the past. The five accused are identified as Mohammad Bhura, Mohammad Ali, Irshad, Shahzad, and Abid. Four of the five accused are siblings and all five are residents of Muzaffarnagar district only. Cases are filed against them based on the complaints given by multiple complainants. 7 cases registered in the Civil Line police station are successfully unveiled in this operation. We have recovered more than 100 mobile phones. We will produce these mobile phones in front of the honourable court. Some people have not filed any complaint with us, and their stolen mobile phones are recovered. So we followed the procedure and returned their phones after completing the necessary formalities.”
He further said, “These accused mostly operate during the Kanwar Yatra because in that period, the police force is already busy and it is difficult to identify them when they dress up like a Kanwariya. Taking advantage of this, they were attempting thefts during the Kanwar Yatra. There are other cases against the accused and we are collecting all the information in that regard. The total valuation of the stolen mobile phones is around Rs 10 lakh. The lot contains both low priced handsets and high priced mobile phones.