Nearly a month after he embarrassed officials attached to the Mira Bhayandar- Vasai Virar (MBVV) police commissionerate, by escaping from the Naya Nagar police station in Mira Road, the 30-year-old thief identified as Sameer Akbar Shaikh continues to remain at large. The incident was reported during the wee hours on 25, January.
A resident of Malwani area in Malad (west), Shaikh had been arrested under sections 380 and 454 of the IPC for his alleged involvement in a temple theft case in the region. A little over an hour after his arrest Shaikh said he wanted to attend nature's call and was escorted to the toilet located on the first floor of the police station.
When the accused didn’t show up for an unusually long time, the on-duty police personnel checked only to realize that he had escaped by pulling out the aluminum grills installed on the toilet window. He had apparently used the duct pipe to scale down from the first floor. Since then all attempts by the police to track down and re-arrest the fugitive have remained futile.
A separate case under section 224 (resistance or obstruction by a person to his lawful apprehension) for escaping from police custody has been registered against the absconding thief. While special teams had been deputed and wireless messages passed with description, any information or clue about the absconding criminal can be shared with the Naya Nagar police station on 28121299 / 8657936949.
Shaikh is suspected to be involved in a spate of theft and housebreaking cases in and around the region, said the police.