Thief strikes in police colony, flees with valuables worth

MUMBAI: A 45-year-old man was arrested for allegedly stealing valuables from 15 houses in Mahim Police colony, near Raheja Hospital. The police said the accused, a history sheeter, had broken into houses of constables. The first time, he broke into 15 houses and made away with ₹13,000 worth of valuables. Emboldened, he returned the next day and decamped with valuables worth ₹10 lakh.
According to Mahim police, the arrested accused is identified as Kamruddhin Shaikh, a resident of Kurla. “On the basis of CCTV footage, we traced the accused and found that he matched one of our criminals’ records. So, we picked up the suspect. Shaikh has several cases registered against him for theft in Dindoshi, Kurla and Antop Hill areas,” said a police officer.
The accused has been sent to five days’ police custody by a local court.
The case was registered by constable Rajaram Mohite, who is posted in Mahim police station. According to police, the accused had mostly broken into houses of constables, who were either on leave or on night duty, or the house was just being used for storage and the constable lived elsewhere.
The accused broke the locks to enter the houses. “He had stolen silver coins and silver idols on the first day. The next day, he stole 130 grams of gold and ₹20,000 in cash from the house of constable Ratnakar Patil,” said the officer.
Mahim police have registered a case under sections 331 (house trespass or house breaking), 324 (mischief) and 305 (theft) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.