Five robberies in a Matunga building have sent the local police on a wide goose chase for the elusive culprit. The investigation has gained a sense of urgency because the Bombay High Court (HC) has asked the Matunga police to get its act together real fast.
The police have registered three FIRs for house-breaking and robbery at Karnik Niwas in Dadar East’s Hindu Colony. The complainants, including Advocate Dhrutiman Joshi, expressed dissatisfaction with the probe and subsequently approached the HC, which directed the police to submit an update by November 14.
The building, currently in a dilapidated state, was vacated for redevelopment last year. Joshi said that his family had lived in the apartment since 1935, but moved out for redevelopment; leaving behind several antique items secured inside locked doors. Despite this, burglars succeeded five times.
On August 15, after discovering that several household items, including water pumps, geysers, a flat screen TV, German silver, brass and copper utensils valued at over Rs 2 lakh were missing, Joshi lodged a police complaint. “It was raining heavily around August 15. I last checked the house on August 13 when everything was intact, so we suspect the break-in occurred between the 13th and 15th,” said Joshi. After filing the complaint, he installed new locks, but on August 18, they were broken again, and more items were stolen. Dissatisfied with the police’s response, Joshi decided to approach the HC.
Giving details of the repeated robberies, his petition further alleged that the police “mocked him” when he attempted to register an FIR. He further claimed that the cops dismissed his complaint, stating that such incidents are common in abandoned houses, and failed to conduct a proper investigation.
During the hearing on October 4, the HC said, “In response to the order dated October 1, senior Inspector Rajendra Pawar from the Matunga police station is present. He reported that CCTV footage from August 15-18 and September 11 has been collected from the area surrounding the petitioner’s residence. An unknown person was seen near the residence during these dates.” Quoting the cop, the court further said that the police have collected dump data (mammoth call records from nearby telecom towers) and assured of a diligent probe.
“We have identified a suspect based on his face captured on one of the CCTV cameras, and the search is ongoing. Multiple teams have been deployed to nab him,” said Pawar.
