Softball cricketer arrested for robbing senior citizen

The Andheri police in Mumbai have arrested a softball (tennis ball) cricket player along with two of his friends for allegedly robbing a senior citizen of a gold chain worth Rs 1.5 lakh. The prime accused, Wasim Noor Mohammad Shaikh, is known for uploading cricket videos on his YouTube channel, including clips of him hitting sixes in MS Dhoni`s ‘helicopter’ style and of training sessions. The police also recovered the stolen gold chain weighing 25 grams.

Shaikh, 30, a resident of Rashid Compound at Kausa, Mumbra, has reportedly participated in numerous softball cricket tournaments. Of the two others arrested, Shaheed Farukh Shaikh, 20, is a resident of Mumbra, while Tofiq Riyaz Ahmad Idrishi, 21, is a resident of Madina Complex at Shilphata, Thane. The complainant, Shankar Jayram Joshi, is a resident of Andheri East.

According to the police, the incident occurred on May 5 around 11.20 pm, when Joshi was walking on the footpath near Vijay Nagar Society in Andheri East. Three unidentified men approached him. One of them pushed him, and when Joshi questioned the act, the trio assaulted him, snatched his gold chain and fled toward Andheri railway station. Joshi immediately informed the Andheri police and filed an FIR. The complaint was officially registered at 1.45 am on May 6, prompting an intensive investigation.

Under the guidance of DCP (Zone X) Sachin Gunjal and ACP Shashikant Bhosale, Senior Inspector Ramesh Bhame formed two dedicated teams, led by Police Sub-Inspectors Kishor Parkale and S Supe. The teams included Police Constables Pednekar, Suryawanshi, Shinde, Surner, Kamble, Kambari, Gaikwad, Turke, Gawli, Londhe, Mhatre, More, Patil, Narbat, Shinde, and technical assistant Pisal.

The investigation teams reviewed footage of over 250 public and private CCTV cameras from the crime scene and surrounding areas. Around three hours after the incident, the suspects were seen boarding a vehicle at Vakola Junction. Using technical surveillance, the police traced the vehicle and subsequently identified and arrested the accused from Mumbra. None of them has prior criminal records.

Speaking with mid-day, PSI Kishor Parkale from Andheri police station, said, “We have arrested the three accused who robbed the senior citizen in Andheri. The main accused, Shaikh, is a tennis ball cricketer who has created several social media reels hitting sixes using the helicopter shot made famous by MS Dhoni.”

This article first appeared on Mid Day