Mumbai crime: Man stole to splurge on 15 girlfriends

Old habits die hard and it was his habit of visiting dance bars that landed an externed burglar in the police net. Officials from Crime Branch (Unit XI) nabbed 32-year-old burglar Harun Jaydev Sardar from a Charkop bar around 5 pm yesterday.

Officials from Unit XI of the Crime Branch with serial robber Harun Jaydev Sardar (sitting)

A resident of Malwani, Sardar had been committing robberies for the last 15 years, and has over 50 cases of break-ins registered against him at various police stations in and outside the city.

During interrogation, he confessed to committing burglaries to maintain a lavish lifestyle. Sardar even revealed that he was having an affair with 15 bar girls, on whom he would spend generously.

Nailed on camera
A number of recent break-ins in Charkop had baffled the police, as they were unable to identify the gang executing these crimes. It was while scrutinising CCTV footage from two of the societies where thefts had occurred recently, that police identified the same man entering both the societies - it was Sardar.

Further investigation revealed that the burglar had over 50 cases of break-ins registered against him, and despite having been externed from city limits, Sardar had been living with his family at their Malwani residence. Based on a tip-off given by informers that Sardar was supposed to meet his accomplices at a local bar, police laid a trap in the area.

"We laid a trap at Malwani, but Sardar did not turn up. After a few hours, we got information that he would be visiting Mann Bar in Charkop," API Chimmaji Adov from Unit XI said. His counterpart, API Mohan Hedpude, said they verified the information and a team was rushed to the bar to nab him.

Sources from the Crime Branch said officials were astonished when they visited his residence in Malwani. The house had expensive décor and the entire family was leading a luxurious life.