Sewri cops arrest 'smart' thieves; discover plan to rob jewellery shops

The duo, caught for stealing a laptop, would use the internet to learn crime tricks and had also learnt some hands-on tactics from fellow jail inmates in the past. They were arrested by Sewri police

The Sewri police last week arrested two "smart thieves" who knew exactly how to evade the police. Identified as Sunil Rajput, 28 and Sonu Kumar, 27, both residents of Lower Parel, were arrested for stealing a laptop and some valuables. The police received a complaint on April 20 from Javed Momin, 27, a Sion resident.

"I had a meeting at Sewri where I had parked my car. When I returned, I found the car window was broken and my laptop and iPad missing. I immediately dialled 100 and filed an FIR at the Sewri police station soon after," said Momin, whose valuables have now been returned to him.

Smart thieves

An offence was registered under sections 379 (theft), 427 (causing damage) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code but, Dr. Rashmi Karandikar, DCP (Port Zone) said, "the accused were quite smart and knew that the police were on their lookout." The two were constantly changing their locations and using different SIM cards to dodge the police radar.

An officer on the case said that Kumar had been earlier arrested by the Thane police in a Rs 35-lakh loot and "when in jail, he would ask other inmates about the kind of questions they faced from the cops." He would take notes, and "plan his next crime accordingly by avoiding those mistakes."

A Std VIII educated man, Kumar used the internet to learn "trends in crime and police detection skills." He would also watch crime shows and read up to understand the psychology behind committing crimes and detecting them, Dr. Karandikar added.

Cops avert another robbery

This time around too, Kumar knew that the police were tracking him through his mobile location. He thus gave a ring to someone from his contact and switched his phone off before leaving the location. He also stood near the police station to notice the police personnel there and to memorise their faces to avoid cops even when they were not in their uniforms.

Kumar, during interrogation, revealed that when in the Thane jail, one Upadhyay alias Shahrukh was his tutor who had advised him to target senior citizens managing jewellery shops. Accordingly, Kumar and Rajput had finalised three such shops in Vapi, Gujarat but were arrested before the plan could be executed. The police have recovered seven laptops from Kumar.

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