A 38-year-old man was arrested by Shahu Nagar police last week for allegedly stealing bicycles. The police managed to recover 27 such bicycles worth Rs. 2,61,500 from his possession.
Photo: Twitter/ @MumbaiPolice
According to the police, within the last two months, they had received more than a couple of missing complaints about bicycles. The investigations for the same were in progress, however, they received hardly any leads to the accused, until last week when they found footage from closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras.
“We were scanning the footage from CCTV cameras for another case and found a man stealing a bicycle – that matched the complaint we had received earlier,” said a senior police official. He continued, “We immediately captured the man’s profile and started inquiring about him with assistance from the undercover informants.”
As the investigation progressed, the cops received information about the accused and his location after which the arrests were made. The accused has been identified as Rahiz Khan, a homeless man who resided on footpaths in Dharavi.
“He had dumped all the stolen bicycles in a secluded area in Dharavi and had kept them hidden. There were over 27 bicycles. His plan was to sell them or their parts to make money,” the officer added.
According to the police, Khan has a criminal record for similar cases of theft in several police stations in the Mumbai area, including Shahu Nagar police.
A case of theft under section 379 of the Indian Penal Code has been registered against Khan by the police. He is remanded in police custody by the court as of now. “We are interrogating him to find out more about the locations from which he stole bicycles or had dealt with suppliers or buyers,” confirmed the police officer.
