In an astonishing revelation, police have learnt that more than 50 people have spread out to different parts of the city to target ongoing functions during the peak wedding season in Mumbai
In an astonishing revelation that has put cops on high alert, an entire village has entered the city to steal from weddings. Police believe more than 50 people have spread out to different parts of Mumbai to target ongoing functions during the city’s peak wedding season.
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mid-day’s report on the children eating and robbing from a wedding in Malad
mid-day had reported on December 5 that a teenaged duo a boy and a girl had been seen attending weddings, eating in the hall and proceeding to steal cash and jewellery worth R10 lakh. After the duo was captured on the CCTV camera, Kandivli police were on the lookout for them, should they make an appearance at another wedding. And they didn’t disappoint.
Modus operandi
On Sunday, the brother-sister duo, 11 and 16 years respectively, showed up at a wedding hall in Malad. The children ate in the hall and then stole a bag full of cash, jewellery and other valuables. The Kandivli police were also present at the venue in plainclothes and followed the children. It turned out that the children’s mother was just outside the venue, selling toys.
Police caught the family red-handed with the valuables. Upon questioning the mother, they found out that this was a practice she would be outside the wedding venue selling toys, while her children, dressed up, would be inside scouring for valuables to steal.
The woman confessed that she and her kids had stolen from several venues in Juhu, Oshiwara, Bangur Nagar in Malad, MHB Colony in Borivli and other suburbs. What shocked the police is her revelation that most people from her village of Jatkhedi, Madhya Pradesh, was on a robbery expedition to the city and targeting wedding functions.
Pradeep Kerkar, assistant police inspector at Kandivli police station, said, “We arrested the mother after she was caught red-handed stealing from the wedding hall. During investigation, we learned that many people from the village are in Mumbai and they are singling out weddings.” Cops believe there are more than 50 such villagers in the city, along with their children.
Police sources further added, “These people are roaming in different areas in Mumbai. They have divided areas among themselves and are responsible for many robberies from functions in the last month. Mumbai police is on high alert and are regularly attending weddings in civil clothes to nab the robbers.” The mother was arrested on the same day, produced in court yesterday, and remanded in police custody. The children were sent to a remand home. Cops are on the lookout for the other villagers.