January 4: Keeping view of the increasing crime rate in the city, the Mumbai police have formed a special night squad, which began functioning from January 2.The squad, headed by an inspector includes five sub-inspectors and five commandos is drawn from 10 different crime branch units. The armed officers will move around in Gypsies with mobile telephones. Said ACP (crime) L R Rao, two units will comb out underworld hideouts, bars, slums and other criminal hideouts between 11 pm and 3 am. Carried out at random, it will help in gathering information about criminal activities and suspicious characters will be detained for questioning. While one unit will cover the northern suburbs beyond Sion, the other will scan south Mumbai. The role of the squad assumes significance as there is an increase in armed robberies in Mumbai, 24,620 incidents between January 1 and September 30 last year.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
