What began as a snatch and grab of a modest cell phone turned into a nearly two month manhunt for the Mulund police that took them all the way to West Bengal and back. The matter first surfaced on December 29 last year when Rekha Verma who worked as a house help approached the police after her mobile phone worth Rs 8,000 was snatched from her. It happened as she was leaving her place of work.
A man attacked her with a stick, and snatched her phone and ran away. Rekha recognised him as a watchman who worked in the same building. His name, Maman Biswas. The police began their investigation with the Aadhar card that he had submitted when he had applied to become a watchman. It said Maman Biswas was 28 years old and had an address somewhere in West Bengal. Their enquiries turned up a contact number as well. It turned out to be that of his mother. Their search for him in Mumbai turned up nothing. That was when the police began looking at West Bengal.
They managed to reach Biswas’s house after days of searching, but his mother said she had no idea where her son was. The police weren't buying her story. They knew that Biswas knew they were on to him. According to an official in the investigative team, “Biswas’s mother knew we were nearby as she heard from other villagers, and at the same time, Biswas called her from an unknown number asking her for information about us.”
As soon as his mother confirmed that the police had knocked on her door, he took a train back to Mumbai. All the while Biswas was travelling from Bengal to Mumbai by train, for three days, the police were looking for him in Bengal. Later, they received intelligence about Biswas being in Mumbai.
