Thane, Jul 25 (PTI) Police have arrested a woman and her 20-year-old son for their alleged involvement in several incidents of house-breaking and theft in Maharashtra’s Thane city, and recovered various items valued at Rs 11 lakh from them, an official said on Friday.
The crimes committed by them came to light after a probe was launched into a complaint filed on July 13, which said that gold and silver ornaments valued worth Rs 7.99 lakh were stolen from a house in Naupada area of the city.
“As part of the investigation, the police examined the CCTV footage from the cameras installed nearby, in which a woman and two children were seen arriving at the house. A young girl was seen taking out various tools from her backpack,” senior inspector Abhay Mahajan of the Naupada police station said.
After that, the police went through footage from around 100 CCTV cameras across the city, which helped establish the woman’s movements near Thane railway station, Talavpali, and Chandanwadi areas, he said.
“It was found that post-burglaries, the woman would deliberately change routes to evade surveillance,” he said.
With clear visuals of the woman and her suspected accomplices, police widened their probe across areas such as Siddheshwar Lake, Wagle Estate, Vartaknagar, Rabodi, Kalwa and Mumbra, using both technical intelligence and informers.
“Eventually, our leads pointed us towards Diva village, especially in localities like Sabegaon, Khardi, Dativali, and near the dumping ground. After a two-night surveillance operation, police traced the male suspect, Ganesh Dilip Gupta alias Ganesh Prakash Awhad (20), near Diva creek, close to the dumping ground.
“On July 17, our team apprehended him after a brief chase. He was then remanded in police custody till July 25. During interrogation, he told the investigators about the involvement of his mother, Puja Dilip Gupta alias Puja Prakash Awhad (45) in several incidents of housebreaking and theft cases in Thane,” Mahajan said.
The police found that the accused planned to sell the stolen gold, silver jewellery, and valuable stamps to bullion dealers in Mumbai and Thane, using the proceeds to relocate to other districts, he said.
The police have seized 100 grams of gold ornaments, 2.5 kilograms of silver articles and jewellery, Rs 40,000 in cash and other things from them collectively worth Rs 10.99 lakh, the official added.
A case has been registered against the duo under sections 305 (theft in a dwelling house) and 331(3) and 331(4) (house-trespass or housebreaking) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). PTI COR NP
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