Man dupes people of jewellery, feeds poor at Haji Ali after crime

Picture credit/Hanif Patel

The Borivli GRP police have arrested a 40-year-old man for allegedly duping several people of their jewellery and valuables by spreading rumours of riots and murders. After committing the crime, the accused sold the valuables and spent one part of the amount he received to feed the poor people at Mahim and Haji Ali Dargah after every incident. The accused has been identified as Anwar Abdul Hamid Shaikh(40), he is a resident of Qureshnagar Kurla east.

According to Bhaskar Pawar, Borivali GRP senior inspector, the accused used a unique modus operandi of duping people where he targeted older, innocent and gullible people at various railways stations. He stopped them and scared them by telling fake incidents like murder or riots and made them believe that their valuables were in danger of getting robbed. So as a precautionary measurement he would advise his victims to take out their jewellery and wrap it in a handkerchief to keep them safe, he would then snatch their belongings and flee.

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The accused managed to dupe three people at Malad railway station using similar modus operandi in the last six months. With the help of CCTV footage, the GRP detection officer from Borivli station tracked the accused and arrested him. During the investigation, he confessed to the crime and the police recovered the valuable which were snatched by the three complainants. He was later produced before the court and remanded police custody. The accused used to visit the Mahim and Haji Ali Dargah after every crime and fed around 20 to 25 poor people, informed senior inspector, Bhaskar Pawar.

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