Mumbai: Two held for stealing IRS officer’s iPhone during NYE bash

The CCTV footage that led to their arrest

The iPhone of an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer was stolen while he was ringing in the new year in a five-star hotel in Juhu.

Shortly after the officer registered a complaint at the Juhu police station, the police managed to identify two of the accused thanks to CCTV camera footage.

The duo was arrested at a lodge in Ghatkopar on Tuesday. The stolen iPhone was recovered from their possession.

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The accused, Bhanu Sharma, 26, and Raj Sharma, 24, hail from Punjab and had come to Mumbai to attend new year celebrations.

According to police sources, the complainant is a deputy commissioner. After he approached the cops, API Vijay Dhotre and his team - under the guidance of DCP Anil Paraskar and under the supervision of Senior Inspector Ajitkumar Vertak - began to examine CCTV footage and eventually zeroed down on two suspects.

"With the help of the call data records, we traced the accused to Ghatkopar and nabbed the duo at the guest house. We have recovered the stolen iPhone," said an officer from the Juhu police station.

During the interrogation, the officers learnt that Raj Sharma used to work in a mobile shop in his home state while Bhanu is a chef. The duo had allegedly committed the crime when they were inebriated, the officer added.

Raj Sharma and Bhanu Sharma

"We have arrested the duo under various sections of the Indian Penal Code. They were produced before the court on Wednesday. They have been remanded in police custody," he added.

The police are checking to see if the accused are repeat offenders or if this was their first run-in with the law.