Every breath cops take, every move they make, he's watching them

Nisar Shaukat Shaikh

Nisar Shaukat Shaikh, 31, would be better off keeping track of his crimes and possibly not committing anymore, but he'd rather keep a tab on all the officers who have ever interrogated him.

History-sheeter Shaikh is notorious for breaking into posh homes and decamping with valuables, electronic items and cash. This time too, he's in the custody of the Andheri police till October 3 for stealing Rs 1.60 lakh after breaking into a house. But cops have noticed a strange modus operandi he puts into practice during his crimes - by remembering every officer who's ever interrogated him.

'Mental note'
Shaikh, who resides in a chawl in Santacruz West, has been committing house break-ins for the past 11 years. Every time he's caught, he makes a 'mental note' of the officers who have probed him. That's a long list of cops to remember, considering Shaikh has been booked in a total of 39 cases of house break-in and trespassing in Bandra, Khar, Santacruz, Juhu, Vakola, Andheri and Kandivli.

Through the many interrogations he's sat in, Shaikh now knows all officers who have probed him in the past. He knows which police sub-inspectors (PSIs), assistant police inspectors (API) as well as detection officers (DOs) are posted at which police station. An officer said, "The routine transfer of officers causes inconvenience to such criminals while committing offences."

Knows all officers
But it fails to be a deterrent for Shaikh. "Recently, many PSIs and APIs were transferred in Mumbai, and we were shocked upon finding out that Shaikh knew which officer has been posted where after the transfers. At the time of interrogation, I was surprised to know that he knew the names of all the APIs, PSIs and DOs," said an API who recently interrogated for house break-in.

Another officer said, "Shaikh is a hardcore criminal and very adamantly confesses the crimes he has committed." "We have to severely interrogate such criminals. Shaikh knows the temperament of almost all the officers who have interrogated him. He keeps a tab on those officers who are a little moderate and soft during interrogation. Taking advantage of their behaviour with him, Shaikh breaks into houses of those cops' jurisdiction, so that when he's caught, he is not grilled that severely," said a senior officer.

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