Driver smuggles 2 burglars into building in boot

A driver allegedly smuggled two burglars into the residential complex where he was employed by hiding them in the boot of a car.

Mumbai Crime Branch officials have arrested Bhola Jaiswal (28) who drove the burglars up to the parking lot on the second floor of the building, after which they burgled a locked up apartment and stole valuables worth Rs 28 lakh from it.

Car naama:u00a01. The two burglars stuffed themselves in the boot of the chauffeur's car, who then drove them into the building.u00a0

Assistant Police Inspector Anagha Satvase and some constables of the Crime Branch (Unit V) arrested Jaiswal and his accomplice Shachindra Sharma from Mahim last week. They then handed over the arrested accused to the Khar police, in whose jurisdiction the crime was committed.

Modus operandi
The robbery took place in May, when the burglars, with Jaiswal's aid, robbed a flat on the fifth floor of 17 Residential Building, on 14th Road, near Mahavir Hospital in Khar (West). The flat is owned by a man named K U Rao.

2. The burglars then broke into a locked up fifth floor apartment, while the chauffeur distracted the security guard by chatting with him.u00a0

As the building's security was tight, Jaiswal put the two robbers in the boot of the car he drives for his employer. From the parking lot on the second floor and took them to the fifth floor. He then came down and started chatting with the security guard to distract him.

3. While the guard went up via lift to investigate a complaint about mysterious sounds emanating from the fifth floor flat, the burglars were tipped off by the chauffeur and climbed three floors down using the stairs. They then used bamboo ladders attached to the building to leap into the adjacent building, from where they made an exit.u00a0Illustrations/Amit Bandre

Since the flat was bolted shut with three locks, the robbers had to spend considerable effort breaking in, and this caused some commotion. One of the residents from the lower floors called up the security guard asking if any repair work was being undertaken on the fifth floor at such a late hour. Alerted, the security guard started making his way up to the fifth floor to detect the source of the noise.

The great escape
Jaiswal immediately called up the burglars, informing them that the security guard was on his way up to the fifth floor.

As the security guard used the lift, the robbers used the staircase to climb down three floors. They spotted some bamboo ladders that had been installed alongside the building for repair work. Using them, they climbed from the second floor onto an adjacent building and from there made a quick getaway.

The burglars, who are now on the run, are history sheeters. "The driver took the robbers to the second floor, hiding them in the boot of the car," said Mangesh Pote, senior inspector, Khar police station.u00a0