The Bhandup Police on Saturday arrested a 32-year-old man for breaking into a house and stealing mobile phones and other gadgets worth Rs. 39,000.
The matter surfaced on July 23, when the complainant (identity protected by the police) approached the police regarding housebreaking and burglary.
As per his statement to the police, the incident happened when he was inside his bathroom. “There were several gadgets and mobile phones kept on his bed in the bedroom. The accused entered the room from the window and stole all the gadgets after which the complainant approached us,” said senior inspector Nitin Unhane of Bhandup police station.
The stolen items include three mobile phones and one tab, costing a total of over Rs. 39,000.
The police began the investigation immediately. “As part of the technical investigation, we started by scanning footage from the closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in all the nearby localities including the ones available nearby the complainant’s building,” added Unhane.
The police found one footage where the accused was found escaping with the stolen property. Acquiring his identification, the police used their confidential informants to track the accused’s whereabouts in order to nab him.
The police then received a tip-off from one such informant confirming the accused’s name and location. The accused is identified as Shabad Umar Siddique and he resided in Khan Compound, Shilphata, Thane.
After the police arrested Siddique, it was known that he used to travel all the way from Thane to other areas in Mumbai, looking for places where he could steal something to make fast money.
“One more person seems to be involved with Siddique but he is on the run. Further investigation is underway to arrest him,” Unhane concluded.
A case has been registered against the accused under sections 380 (theft in dwelling house) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code. The police managed to recover all the stolen property from Siddique and handed it over to the complainant.
