Bhayandar: A 21-year-old thief landed in the custody of the Thane (rural) police after he activated the SIM card in one of the mobile phones he had stolen from a shop in Bhayandar last week.
According to the police, a break-in was reported from New Impression, a mobile showroom in Bhayandar on August 6. The miscreant had decamped with a booty worth Rs 3.15 lakh, including 26 high-end smart phones of various brands.
To conceal his identity, the accused had covered the close circuit television cameras (CCTV) with gunny bags. A police team, led by Senior Inspector Chandrakant Jadhav and API Sapan Bishwas under the instructions of SP Dr Shivaji Rathod, initiated investigations.
The international mobile equipment identity (IMEI) numbers of the stolen phones were also circulated to all the mobile operators.
On a tip-off about the activation of one of the stolen phones with a new SIM card, the police team tracked the contact numbers of those with whom the user talked often.
The cops finally zeroed in on the thief, Kuljeet Rameshchandra Choudhary (21), a resident of Bhola Nagar, Bhayandar (West), a native of Siddarth Nagar district in Uttar Pradesh.
“While a case under IPC Sections 380, 454 and 457 was registered, we have recovered 25 stolen mobile worth Rs3 lakh from the accused. He has been remanded in custody. Further investigations to ascertain his involvement in other break-ins are underway,” said an investigating officer.
By Suresh Golani
