Mumbai: Khar police arrested a chicken seller from Powai’s Pathanwadi slum, identified as Zahidali Roshan Ali Qureshi alias ‘Murgi’ (29), within 10 hours for a Rs 6.9 lakh burglary at a western suburban hotel on Saturday.Police said Qureshi, who had dozens of theft cases, was traced after officers examined dozens of closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage from the hotel on Linking Road in Khar (West) and the routes he took to reach his home. The burglary was solved within 10 hours under the supervision of DCP Mohit Garg, and police recovered Rs 6.3 lakh cash and a mobile phone worth Rs 5,000.Qureshi executed the burglary between 5.30 am and 5.50 am after he entered through the open glass door of the hotel and stole a mobile phone worth Rs 5,000 and Rs 6.81 lakh cash from the cash counter. “During the CCTV examination, we found the burglar’s face, which helped to find out his antecedents in the criminal database. It was found that Qureshi committed the offence two days after he was released from jail in a theft case,” said a police officer of the Khar police station.Police said Qureshi tried to flee when the team reached Powai. “When we tried to apprehend him, while hiding inside his house, he tried to flee; the police team chased him down and took him into custody,” said the police.Police said his alleged method involved entering without breaking in. “Qureshi’s unique modus operandi is to sneak into a dwelling instead of breaking the lock or door,” said the officer.Recognising the seriousness of the crime, DCP Mohit Garg supervised the team — senior inspector Sanjeev Dhumal, inspector Vaibhav Katkar, assistant inspector Bharat Satpute, sub-inspector Manik Ghogare and staff — and the accused was identified and tracked using technical analysis and information from confidential informants. Police said that after receiving information that he was hiding in the Filter Pada area of Powai, the Khar police team laid a trap.In the complaint, hotel manager Yash Bandkar (32) said: “I was at my Bhandup home when the hotel security guard, Santoshkumar Yadav, called and informed that cash from the hotel’s cash counter was stolen. The hotel owner Nikhil and other hotel staff who were present at the hotel inquired with the hotel cashier, Arun Pande, who said that the cash that was stolen was the last three days’ collections. Also, our staff member, Shagun Yadav, said that at 5 am someone jumped over the closed gate of the hotel, opened the main gate, and went into the back building.”A police officer said that after receiving this information, the hotel staff reviewed the CCTV camera footage and saw the accused enter through the open glass door of the hotel and make off with the cash and the staff’s mobile phone.
