Mumbai: Two thieves held outside SRK's Mannat came from Madhya Pradesh

Imran Maheboob Shaikh Bhusawal, 30; Shubham Jamnaprasad Gadhwal, 25; Mohammad Ali Khaja Noor Sayyed, 27

The Bandra police successfully apprehended three individuals who had taken advantage of the huge gathering of fans outside Mannat on the occasion of actor Shahrukh Khan's birthday and stole their mobile phones. The Bandra police arrested three of the thieves on November 2 and recovered nine mobile phones from them. The mobile thieves had mingled with the fans who had arrived at Mannat, SRK's residence on the night of November 1 and had stolen mobile phones. According to the police, 34 mobile phones were reported to be stolen outside Mannat on the nights of November 1 and November 2.

The three arrested have been identified as Shubham Jamnaprasad Gadhwal, 25, Imran Maheboob Shaikh Bhusawal, 30, both hailing from Madhya Pradesh, and Mohammad Ali Khaja Noor Sayyed, 27, a resident of Mahim. According to the police, the accused had meticulously planned to target SRK's fans during the birthday celebrations. Imran Maheboob Shaikh Bhusawal worked as a waiter in a restaurant in Mahim, while Shubham Gadhwal and Mohammad Ali Khaja Noor Sayyed were unemployed.

A police officer involved in the case stated, "During the investigation, the accused revealed that they had planned to steal mobile phones at SRK's birthday celebrations. They had even strategised to strike when Shahrukh Khan would make an appearance at Mannat Bungalow and wave at his fans. Based on their previous experience this gang had observed it was relatively easy to steal mobile phones from the fans outside Mannat Bungalow. They managed to steal16 mobile phones on the midnight of November 2, when Shah Rukh Khan emerged from his bungalow to thank his fans."

The mobile thieves were nabbed by a police team of assistant police inspector Vijay Achrekar, police sub-inspector Guruprasad Daphale along with the members of the detection team which worked under the leadership of DCP Krishnakant Upadhyay and senior police inspector Sanjay Marathe.

On November 1 and November 2, the Bandra police had increased its presence and security outside Mannat Bungalow. The Bandra police had detained six suspects. Subsequent investigations revealed the involvement of only three of the suspects.

Speaking with mId-day DCP Krishnakant Upadhyay of Zone 9 said, "Thirty-four mobile phones were stolen outside Mannat in the last two days. We have arrested three people and recovered nine mobile phones. We deployed around 8-9 different teams outside SRK's bungalow to keep an eye on the thieves. The turnout of the crowd was over 10,000 on the night of November 1 and also about 8,000-10,000 people had gathered on November 2. We are also tracking the other accused persons and have detained two more suspects."