08 January,2019 08:23 AM IST | Mumbai | Anurag Kamble
The police team that nabbed the thief, seen with the wood confiscated from him, in the trunk and bag.
The lure of a lavish lifestyle in Mumbai tempted a 20-year-old to steal valuable wood worth over Rs 21 lakh. The Pydhonie police arrested Rashiduddin Matiur Rehman from Sewri on Saturday, after they went to Bengaluru, came back to Mumbai, and went to West Bengal in pursuit of him.
Ayub Ubedulla Sheikh, a 55-year-old wood merchant, registered a complaint in Pydhonie police station on December 2, saying 21.170 kg Agarwood (used to extract oil or prepare perfume and incense sticks) worth Rs 21.25 lakh was stolen from his shop.
Senior Inspector Avinash Kanade formed a team under Sub-Inspectors Liladhar Patil and Pravin Fadtare. "During the investigation, we found that a 20-year-old worker, Rashid Uddin Matiur Rehman, had quit 4 months ago and was seen in the neighbourhood of the shop at the time of the theft," said an officer from Pydhonie police station. Police found he had gone to Bengaluru to sell the wood.
Rehman couldn't sell the wood but a buyer asked him to come with it to Mumbai. "After negotiations failed with this person, Rehman went to West Bengal, eyeing perfume traders there. But he couldn't get a buyer even there. He went to Assam but there too he failed, said another officer. Police followed him to all these places but could not arrest him.
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"Frustrated, Rehman decided to take a chance and come to Mumbai again. We got a tip-off and laid a trap at BPT area, Sewri, and nabbed him," added the officer. "Rehman was working in the shop 6 months ago. When he came to Mumbai, he was a teenager, and saw the lavish lifestyles in South Mumbai, and wanted to make money as soon as possible. So he decided to steal wood. We have booked him under IPC Sections 454 (trespassing), 457 (house breaking at night) and 380 (theft)," said Avinash Kanade, Senior Inspector, Pydhonie police station.
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