Mateen Hafeez I TNN
MUMBAI: Former NSEL director Joseph Massey, who has been in the news for scripting a daring escape through a secret outlet from his home, literally went off the radar by switching off his cellphone and desisting from using credit or debit cards.
What led to his arrest on January 27 was an analysis of the call data records of 60 persons known to him, a monitoring of their phones and combing of CCTV footage from 50 buildings. Ultimately, a call placed to a watchman at one of NSEL's offices from Navi Mumbai made the police zero in on Massey's location. CCTV footage from there narrowed the chase down to a silver car.
To track down Massey, the police carried out a 50-hour operation using high-tech devices and old-school hands-on sleuthing. A police team even rented a flat in Vashi as part of the operation. In police circles, the manhunt for Massey is being touted as the most exhaustive tech-dependent one in recent years.
"Massey's was a well-planned escape and we reacted suitable," said an officer. To execute the plan to nab Massey, EOW chief Vinay Choubey formed a team led by DCP Rajiv Jain, ACP Prabhakar Loke, senior inspector Ramchndra Lotlikar, APIs Atul Kedar, Vikrant Shirsath, Wangale and Rahul Pawar, and staff.
Two teams were formed, one to be at the EOW headquarters to monitor gadgets, and the other to be in the field.
The field team surveyed 45 hotels and guesthouses in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, where, based on information, Massey was suspected to be hiding. The persons whose phones were monitored included Massey's business contacts, his company's office bearers and watchmen. The breakthrough came while monitoring an NSEL office watchman's phone. "We learnt Massey had used a PCO from Navi Mumbai to make a call. This was the first time we got whiff of his location since his escape in mid-January," said an officer. As Massey's location kept changing, the police hired a technician with expertise in tracking cellphones based on minimal data points. With the aid of the technician and CCTV footage, the police learnt that Massey was going around in a silver car.
Ultimately, it was blind luck that landed him in the police net. A cop spotted him on a road in Belapur and alerted his colleagues. As the police closed in, Massey tried to escape. But like a satisfactory movie ending, his efforts were foiled.
Massey's custody was extended till Thursday on a request by the EOW, which wants him to confront former NSEL MD Anjani Sinha.
The Times of India, February 8, 2019
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