Mumbai: After chasing a woman for almost two years in a case of stealing jewellery worth Rs 15 lakh, the crime branch unit 5 on Tuesday nabbed her from Bengaluru. The woman Munmun Hussain, 46, alias Archana Barua aka Nikki, has similar offences registered against her elsewhere in the country. Hussain a resident of Bengaluru used to fly to different cities, roam in the upmarket areas and malls there and lift bags whenever she saw an apportunity. While lifting bags she made sure that the person is wealthy enough which would earn her handsome money.
In April last year, Hussain had stolen a bag from a clothing store in Lower Parel mall, the bag contained jewellery and cash worth Rs 15 lakh. During the investigation, it was revealed that the same woman had lifted bags in 2018 from shopping malls in Dadar and Lower Parel as well.
"We were looking for her since past two years however her identity remains a key, recently with the help of technical analysis we finally nabbed her from Bengaluru. We also managed to seize all the stolen property including jewellery, cash, mobile phone and all the documents she had stolen a year ago," said Yogesh Chavhan police inspector, crime branch unit 5.
During the investigation, it was revealed that Hussain had committed similar thefts across the country with over 10 cases registered against her in Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and in Mumbai.
While explaining her modus operandi an officer said that Hussain was an orchestra singer and since 2008 she committed thefts. She travels by plane and visits different cities, while roaming in upmarket areas and malls she lifts bags whenever she gets an opportunity and after completing her target returns to her city.
