The crime detection unit attached to the Bhayandar police have arrested a notorious thief who mainly targeted temples to steal money that was collected in the donation boxes. According to the police the accused who has been identified as-Shah Noor Akhtar Khan (23) had recently sneaked into a Jain temple in Bhayandar (west) and decamped with the cash collected in the donation box.
The crime detection team visited the temple and on the virtue of electronic surveillance managed to get hold of the mobile number of the accused. After scanning his call detail record (CDR) and procuring details from the telecom company, the team also got his photo, following which the informer network was activated.
Based on a tip-off, the team laid a trap and apprehended Khan from a tenement in Ambernath on Saturday. Khan turned out to be a serial thief who had earlier targeted various temples in and around the region including one in Bhayandar in 2022.
An offence under sections 457 (house break-in by night) and 380 (theft) has been registered against Khan who was remanded to judicial custody after he was produced before the district sessions court, Thane.
Assistant police inspector-Manikrao Kature is conducting further investigations in the case.
