Mumbai Crime: Friend robs man of phones worth Rs 3 lakh

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Letting a friend stay at his house proved costly for a mobile phone shop owner at Borivli, for the former stole goods worth Rs 3.70 lakh from him. The accused, a 40-year-old Bangalore-based mobile shop owner, was arrested on Sunday by the Borivli police for robbing his friend's house. The police said the complainant has a shop in Borivli West and due to the Covid-19 restrictions, had kept mobile phones worth around Rs 3.70 lakh at home.

The complainant, Suresh Purohit, 32, owns Hari Om mobile shop at Indraprastha Shopping Centre in Borivli. The accused is Dinesh Purohit, a resident of Rajasthan, owns a shop in Bangalore. The Borivli police arrested Dinesh from Mira Road and found all phones with him.

The police said Dinesh and Suresh are from the same village. Due to the lockdown, Suresh had brought all the mobile phones home. Dinesh learnt of this and planned a robbery.

An officer from Borivli police station said, "On May 24, Dinesh Purohit arrived in Mumbai from Bangalore and told Suresh to let him stay at his house. An unsuspecting Suresh took good care of him. On the night of June 2, Dinesh suddenly disappeared."

"In the morning, Suresh found his friend and the bag with his mobile phones missing. The bag had 300 phones. Suresh immediately informed the Borivli police and registered an FIR," the officer added.

The police found Dinesh's number switched off, but before doing this, he had called another friend at Mira Road. The police traced Dinesh's friend in Mira Road and arrested him from his residence.