07 January,2024 06:55 AM IST | Mumbai | Prasun Choudhari
The accused, Mohammed Azim Sheikh, was arrested with the help of CCTV camera footage and human intelligence
While the soothing azaan that wafts out from the mosque is a call to prayer for many, for this 29-year-old man, it was a call to action. The Mumbai Police Crime Branch has arrested an Uttar Pradesh native who would allegedly steal mobile phones of maulvis in mosques in Mumbai.
According to Crime Branch officers, the accused, Mohammed Azim Sheikh, was arrested after the Unit V received complaints from maulvis or preachers from four different mosques. The police said that Sheikh would visit mosques at the time of the fajr namaaz - the first namaaz of the day that is offered at dawn.
"After the namaaz, the maulvis usually rest inside the mosque premises as there is a low footfall that early in the morning. Sheikh had noticed that the maulvis would turn their phone to silent mode and place them in their pockets before the namaaz began. He started slipping these phones out of their pockets once they had gone to sleep," a Crime Branch officer said.
When complaints started mounting, the Unit V started inquiries to identify history sheeter who specialised in this modus operandi, and zeroed in on Sheikh. Using Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) footage from around the mosques as well as tip offs from informants, the police picked him up from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus station on Saturday. The police said that he was about to leave for his hometown Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh when he was arrested.
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"We have seized seven mobile phones from Sheikh's possession, and have also found out that he was wanted in Kanpur for a string of similar thefts. In several of the thefts he committed in Mumbai, the mosque authorities had not even filed complaints for fear of disrepute. We are interrogating Sheikh to ascertain the extent of his crimes," the officer said. Sheikh has allegedly said in his interrogation that he used to make footwear for a living earlier, but turned to crime to support his six younger siblings.
