Bhayandar: Excited about taking a selfie or being photographed while hosting or attending a wedding or reception? Make sure someone is guarding your belongings while you take the perfect click. Reason: a friendly but unknown person might turn out to be a smartly dressed thief in disguise waiting for the right opportunity to strike. A thief struck at a wedding reception ceremony being solemnised at Maheshwari Bhawan hall in Bhayandar (West) and escaped with valuables and cash-in-envelopes worth more than Rs 1.68 lakh that was gifted to the bride and groom.
The entire sequence of events, which was captured by close circuit television cameras, clearly shows a stylishly dressed unidentified youth (aged between 18 to 19 years), elegantly walking away with the bag at around 10 pm. “The modus operandi seems similar to cases reported from other venues in the twin-city, indicating the involvement of a gang,” revealed an officer, who is privy to the ongoing investigations.
Based on the complaint registered by the bride’s sister, a case under section 380 of the IPC was registered at the Bhayandar police station. A spate of thefts at wedding grounds and banquet halls in the Mira-Bhayandar region has become a cause of worry for the Thane (rural) police. However, similar cases during wedding seasons in the past have remained undetected.
