Cops nab 3 sisters wanted for break-ins on Bhau Beej

The occasion of Bhau Beej proved auspicious for officials of the Crime Branch (Unit V) after they arrested three sisters wanted for several housebreakings from their uncle's residence in Jogeshwari, where they had come to celebrate the festival with their brothers. The three were identified as Anita Prakash Patil (26), Sujata Rafiq Shaikh (24) and Meena Umesh Ingale (21). Officials said the fourth sister, their accomplice, is at large. The trap was laid after Constable Santosh Patil received a tip-off that the trio would be visiting their brothers on Bhau Beej.

While Anita keeps an eye out, Sujata walks out of the house with the booty, as shown in the CCTV footage recorded in October

Based on the information, Senior Inspector Vanish Patel formed a team comprising PI Shashikant Mane, API Anagha Satawase and Constables Milind Sawant, Iqbal Khan, Mahadev Bhosale and Nana Pawar, who had solved two housebreaking cases in north Mumbai recently. "CCTV footage recovered from a Kandivli society, where a break-in occurred in October, captured these four women in action. The four are known for committing housebreakings in north and west Mumbai. Sheikh was even arrested on two occasions in the past," said an official.

Modus operandi
Officials said at the time of the Kandivli break-in, while two sisters waited outside the building to keep an eye, the remaining two executed the crime. "The two sisters entered the house by opening the latch using a thin steel scale and fled the spot after stealing whatever they could lay their hands on," an official said.

What made them criminals?
Investigation revealed that the four sisters took to crime to fulfil their monetary needs after their father abandoned them and left for Gulbarga following their mother's suicide in 2006. They, along with their two brothers, then started residing at their uncle's residence in Jogeshwari. "They even had a guru, who taught them the tricks of the trade. But even he abandoned them after a while. The brothers work as garbage collectors for the BMC," an officer said. u00a0