Facebook friendship leads to crime spree, duo commit burglaries in Mumbai, Pune and Thane

Mumbai: A friendship that began on Facebook led to two men fron Delhi touring the country together and committing burglaries in cities like Mumbai, Pune and Thane. The duo were arrested by the Malad police on Monday in connection with a burglary in their jurisdiction earlier this year.

According to the Malad police, the accused have been identified as Shakib Ansari and Ahil Chaudhary. The police said that Ansari is a resident of Bijnor, while Chaudhary is from New Delhi. The duo met on Facebook around a year ago and soon became drinking buddies, with one travelling to the other's town as per convenience. Soon, as both of them were unemployed, they hit upon the idea of committing burglaries. Unwilling to risk being on the wrong side of the law in their own hometowns, the duo decided to travel to metropolitan cities across India, investigating officers said.

"We got on the duo's trail after they broke into the Malad residence of a teacher earlier this month and stole cash and valuables worth Rs 2.5 lakh. The modus operandi made it clear that they had spent some days watching the house, as they struck exactly when the teacher and her husband were at work, while their son was in a day care center," said police sub inspector Shivaji Shinde, Malad police station.

After the FIR was lodged, the police started viewing Closed Circuit Television footage of the building where the burglary was committed and were able to track the accused from the building to a 'pan-beedi' shop a few kilometres away.

"As it turned out, Shakib was a regular customer at the store and would visit there every time he was in Mumbai. The shop owner, who had till then been unaware of Shakib's line of work, identified him from the footage and said that he had come to the shop just two days earlier. During this time, he had told the owner that he was going to his native place for a few days. We asked the shop owner if he had a number for Shakib, and he did," said senior police inspector Dhananjay Ligade, Malad police station.

Using cellular location mapping and Call Detail Record (CDR) analysis, the police traced and arrested Shakib from Bijnor on Saturday. Based on the results of his questioning, the police picked up Chaudhary from New Delhi and brought the duo back to Mumbai on Sunday. They were subsequently produced in a local court and remanded in police custody till July 21.

"Inquiries so far have revealed that the duo have visited several metropolitan cities before this and we are digging deeper into their movements. We have already uncovered one case against them with the Chaturshringi police station in Pune and more such cases are expected to come to light," Shinde said.