96 not out! Crook nabbed in Mumbai before his 100th 'feat'

96 not out! Crook nabbed in Mumbai before his 100th 'feat'

Kiran Shah

Mumbai Crime Branch officials (MCB) have nabbed a crook before his 100th con act. Police sources said, the accused, identified as Kiran Shah from Ghatkopar, was nabbed on Wednesday and his crime count stands at 96.

According to police sources, his last con victim is a Vakola resident. "On January 17, Kiran charged a Vakola resident of adultery with one his friends' wives. Initially dumbfounded, the victim denied all the allegations, but Kiran told him he has incriminating evidence against the Vakola man. Kiran showed him a porn clip on his cell phone and alleged the man in it was him and the woman was his friend's wife. The video was blurry, so the victim insisted that there must have been some misunderstanding, but Kiran told him his friend has found out about the illicit affair and was waiting nearby to teach him a lesson. The accused said he would help the victim get out of this issue if the victim gave him all his gold ornaments. The victim agreed and handed over ornaments weighing up to three-and-a-half tolas. Kiran asked him to go ahead and apologise to his friend, and as soon as the victim walked ahead, Kiran fled," said an MCB official.

The victim immediately rushed to Vakola police station and filed a complaint for robbery. Weeks later, on Wednesday, MCB's Unit IX received a tip off that Kiran was heading to Santacruz in search of his next target. The officials, including senior police inspector Mahesh Desai, laid a trap and nabbed him. "During investigations, we came across his past records and found that he had been previously arrested in similar crimes," said the official.

Incidentally, Azad Maidan police arrested Kiran in April last year. "He has conned a 55-year-old woman and taken away gold ornaments worth R80,000. He was identified with the help of CCTV footage and arrested by Azad Maidan cops in 2016. Kiran is wanted in Bhandup, Vakola, Santacruz, Azad Maidan police stations for cheating and robbery," the official said.

MCB has handed over Kiran to Vakola police officials for further investigations.