Meet this Mumbai family for whom robbery is a profession

Even in a country where family businesses come in endless varieties, this one probably takes the cake. A mother and her four sons two of whom are minors were arrested by the police in connection with a theft case at a jewellery shop in Malad (East) on Saturday. Police officials say the gang had been operating for several months and is accused in at least five cases.

The Dindoshi police arrested the Koradiyas in connection with a theft case at a jewellery shop in Malad. File pic

Yasmin Koradiya and her sons Zed (20), Hanan (19) and minors who are aged 16 and 14 would enter jewellery shops as a family and ask the staff to show them rings, necklaces and other ornaments. While the adults would keep the staff busy in this way, the minors would use sleight of hand to steal a few ornaments.

Around 2.30 pm on Saturday the mother and sons entered Radhika Jewellers at Nivediya compound in Malad (East). Police officials said they asked to see gold rings and, this time, the sons made sure that the staffers' attention was diverted. After about 15 minutes, they left saying they did not like any of the rings.

The shop owner, Mukesh Jain, suspected something was amiss and checked the CCTV footage, which revealed that Yasmin had taken a gold ring. He called the Dindosi police and they started their investigations. Based on a tip-off about the Koradiyas' location, the police arrested them the same night.

They discovered that the sons don't work anywhere and depend only on theft to make a living. Yasmin told them that she had begun thieving to provide for her children.

The Dindoshi police charged the Koradiyas under Sections 381 (theft) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC and the minors were sent to a children's remand home. "We are investigating whether they were involved in any more cases," said an official from the Dindoshi police.