Serial wedding thief nabbed after 30 heists

A serial thief's prolific run of crashing weddings and robbing valuables from several reception halls in the city has come to an end after police arrested him on Thursday. The Oshiwara police arrested the 28-year-old accused identified as Dharamvir alias Vishal Dwarkaprasad Kashyap after they received a tip-off of his whereabouts from their sources.

Oshiwara police arrested the 28-year-old accused identified as Dharamvir alias Vishal Dwarkaprasad Kashyap after they received a tip-off of his whereabouts from their sourcesu00a0

According to the police, a complaint against an unidentified person was filed after valuables had gone missing during a wedding reception at Oshiwara in December last year. After realising the goods were stolen at the reception, relatives of the bride and groom had scanned through the CCTV cameras of the reception hall and noticed the accused mingling with the guests. Kashyap was seen chitchatting with the guests and was also spotted eating a hearty meal.

Modus operandi
Police said Kashyap, a resident of Kharva chawl in Andheri (W), would dress smartly and walk into a marriage hall with a gift-wrapped present, which was empty. According to the police, Kashyap would first stroll around the hall trying to ascertain the richer contingent bride or groom.

After identifying the wealthier family, he would start a conversation with various relatives, which would lead the family members to think that he was a guest of the other family and not get suspicious. Then looking for an opportune moment, Kashyap would steal valuables worth lakhs of rupees, have his dinner and escape. Police officials said the accused during questioning confessed to committing more than 30 such robberies. On December 23, the accused had carried out a similar crime at the marriage reception of an NRI Ravi Gandhi in Kandivili.

"We have registered a case under Section 379 of the IPC against the accused. Nearly 2.5 lakh worth valuables were robbed from the Oshiwara marriage reception," said Ravindra Patil, assistant police inspector with Oshiwara police station. Kashyap was presented in court and remanded to police custody. Police are investigating the case and trying to recover the stolen valuables.
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