Mumbai: Nearly two months after he broke into a flat and decamped with gold ornaments worth Rs.1.90 lakh, the thief landed into the custody of the Bhayandar police. Notably, the thief identified as-Ajay Anant Patil turned out to be contractual conservancy worker of a private agency hired by the sanitation department of the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) for the day-to-day cleanliness of the twin-city.
According to the police, the accused had sneaked into the flat in broad daylight between 11:30 am to 12:45 pm on 24, April when the family members had gone to visit an ailing relative. After scanning closed circuit tele-vision (CCTV) cameras near the crime scene and possible getaway routes, the police team spotted suspicious movements of a man who was wearing the blue-color MBMC uniform.
However, the image was blurred and unclear, making it difficult for the police team to establish the identity of the suspect, thus prolonging the case. After enhancing its quality to a certain level, the police team showed the image to all mukadam’s (supervisors) who headed teams of conservancy workers.
The hard work finally paid off when Ajay Patil was identified and apprehended from the Silver Park area of Mira Road. Patil who confessed to his crime turned out to be a serial housebreaker who had committed eight similar offences under the jurisdiction of the Kelwa and Saphale police stations.
Being a conservancy worker, the accused who visited residential localities on a daily basis apparently kept a watch on locked flats. The police also recovered stolen booty worth Rs. 1.44 lakh from the possession of the accused who has been booked under sections 380 (theft) and 454 (house-breaking) of the IPC. Further investigations were underway.
Police Verifications in Limbo.
Stung by instances in which contractual staffers were found involved in anomalies and even crimes, the MBMC had mandated police/ character verifications of all such staffers working for private contractors and manpower supply agencies hired for developmental projects and other service related works in November, last year.
However, most of the contractors were yet to submit the verification documents, sources said. There are around 3,500 people working for the MBMC on a contractual basis hired by private contractors and manpower supply agencies. The sanitation department tops with around 2,000 workers, followed by the public transport authority and water supply department with 450 and 300 workers hired by the private contractors respectively.
