A pair of thieves has been arrested by the MIDC police for committing theft at several houses in Mumbai. The accused have been identified as Raees Abdul Ahad Shaikh, 36, and Waseem Khalid Khan alias Billa, 33.
The two accused used a burqa to hide their identity and used the cover to avoid suspicion and evade the police. However, they were caught unawares in a CCTV footage of one of the households they had targeted.
The footage reportedly shows one of the accused wearing a burqa inside a house they were stealing from. The family’s domestic help had gone to receive their daughter from school and when she returned, she found the bedroom ransacked.
A mid-day report quoting the MIDC police revealed that valuables and cash worth around Rs 4.5 lakh were missing. The victim has been identified as Zaheer Ansari, 45, from Andheri’s Marol area.
The accused would generally target Muslim households, as per reports. One of the accused named Shaikh would wear the burqa to blend in and would remove the same once he entered the targeted house. According to a report, the accused said wearing a burqa made it easier to conduct illicit activities.
It was also easier for them to hide stolen valuables and cash inside a burqa. The accused often targeted households that were frequently closed.
Shaikh would then search the house for valuables and steal them while Khan, the other accused, would be stationed outside to alert Shaikh if anyone approached.
Shaikh’s latest theft which landed him in the police net was to repay an acquaintance who had bailed him out from jail.
An officer from the MIDC police reportedly said, “Under the guidance of Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Zone X Datta Nalawade, Senior Police Inspector (PI) Satish Gaikwad, Assistant Police Inspector (API) Manoj Darade, and Police Sub-Inspector (PSI) Anandrao Kashid, the investigation team comprised Constable Gautam Bade, Head Constable Tanaji Avhad, Constable Tushar Jadhav, Constable Ashol Avghade, Constable Prakash Shinde and Constable Dinesh Lokhande. The duo was found in Jogeshwari East, Bandra Plot area, and arrested.”
Cases have been filed against the duo reportedly in 18 police stations across Mumbai and Palghar. Shaikh was arrested by the Kandivali police a few months ago and released on bail this month.
According to a police source cited by mid-day, one of Shaikh’s acquaintances paid for his bail in exchange for repayment of double the bail amount. Shaikh planned a theft on 3rd November to repay the acquaintance.
