The Mumbai police had recently apprehended a 34-year-old man, who broke into a locked office in a black burqa and committed a burglary in the Dadar West area of Mumbai.
As per reports, the accused was identified as one Balwant Sudama Gupta. He stole 12.5 kg gold and silver jewellery, ₹15 lakh cash and the Digital Video Recorder (DVR) of a CCTV camera.
The burglary incident took place between January 29-30 of this year on the 14th floor of ‘Naman Midtown’, which is located on Senapati Bapat Marg in Dadar (West). A First Information Report (FIR) was registered on January 31, following a complaint by one Jignesh Mehta.
During the investigation, the cops analysed several hours of footage from 130-140 CCTV cameras. The police found that the accused, dressed in a burqa, first went to the 17th floor in a lift. The person then went to the 14th floor by climbing the duct area and removing the toilet window. He then broke into the office.
He then smashed the showcase and looted the jewellery. Gupta then turned the CCTV camera towards the wall. However, one CCTV camera located in another office showed him with a sack in his hand. This provided the first clue to the investigation authorities.
Senior police Inspector Mahesh Mugutrao remarked, “For 10 days we went through 130 to 140 CCTV cameras installed across Dadar, Matunga, Sion, Kurla and Panvel to get leads in the case and finally nabbed him.” Reportedly, Gupta came to know about the store when he visited the building in Dadar, a month prior to the incident for job-related work.
According to inspector Sagar Shivalkar, Gupta robbed closed shops in high-end areas during holidays. Reportedly, the accused had committed another burglary in a burqa in November 2021 at Ghatkopar in Mumbai and stole ₹5 lakhs.
The police recovered 8 kg silver and ₹ 5.35 lakh from the accused. It has come to light that Balwant Gupta is an electrician, who lost his job during the Covid-19 lockdown. He needed money for the treatment of his father, who is reportedly suffering from cancer. As such, the accused resorted to robbing shops to fund his father’s treatment.
