Mumbai: 80-year-old woman dies of burglary shock, cops recover booty

Shilpa Shah outside the house in Prabhat Colony, Santacruz, where the burglary had taken place last month. Pics/Satej Shinde

More than a month after 80-year-old Santacruz resident Sushilaben Chandulal Shah died due to the shock of losing 20 tolas of gold ornaments and Rs 5 lakh cash in a burglary at her residence, the Vakola police managed to arrest the accused and recover a part of the booty. The senior citizen had kept her life's earnings for a knee replacement surgery, as she was suffering from severe spine and knee pain.

Sushilaben used to reside at Uday Society in Prabhat Colony of Santacruz East with her family. The accused has been identified as Ismile Isak Shaikh, 37, resident of Sakinaka. He has 15 housebreaking cases registered against him. Police said that after the robbery, he fled to Jharkhand and hid in a Maoist area. Sushilaben's family said that the robbery happened on August 6 and she passed away on August 15 at a hospital. On the night of the incident Sushilaben was at one of his son's house in a nearby society.

Saved up for surgery

Speaking to mid-day, Sushilaben's daughter-in-law Shilpa Shah, who lives in a flat next to her mother-in-law's house, said, "She was having pain in her knees and spine, so we decided to go for a knee-replacement surgery at Mahavir Clinic in Santacruz. The operation cost was about R8 lakh and we had arranged the money from the entire family's savings. We had 20 tolas of gold and Rs 5 lakh cash at my mother-in-law's residence and we decided to use it for the surgery."

Uday building in Santacruz

Shilpa said, "The accused entered the society after 3 am on August 6. He locked all the flats from the first to third floor from outside and broke into three houses. We have two flats on the third floor and I was sleeping in the one next to my mother-in-law's house. I woke up around 6 am and found my main door locked. After some members of my family residing in a neighbouring society opened the door, and we checked the adjacent flat, we were shocked to find the jewellery and cash missing. We immediately informed the police about it."

Book him for her death'

"My mother-in-law went into shock and depression. Her blood pressure increased as well. We immediately admitted her to Mahavir hospital but she passed away on August 15. The accused should also be booked for her death," she added.

Investigative officer PSI Nitin Save of Vakola police said, "After registering a case we formed a team of five officers under the guidance of Senior Police Inspector Sunayana Nate of Vakola police station. With the help of CCTV footage we identified him and found out that he fled to Jharkhand and was hiding in a Maoist area. We took help from the Special Task Force of Jharkhand and traced him to that area. We have recovered all the gold that was stolen and Rs 2.20 lakh cash from him. The accused is currently in police custody."

"We have arrested accused Shaikh for committing the robbery under sections 457 and 380 of IPC. We took help from the Jharkhand police and arrested him through a joint operation. The accused is a native of Jharkhand," said Manjunath Singe, Zone 8 DCP.