Mumbai Crime: IMEI number of thief’s old handset ends his game

Pintu Sultan Ali Keshwani was arrested from Surat on Tuesday

The Sewri police have arrested a most wanted criminal, who is facing charges under MCOCA for oil theft and had been absconding for six years, all thanks to the IMEI number of his handset.

The IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) number of Pintu Sultan Ali Keshwani's old handset led the city police to Surat, Gujarat, where they laid a trap and nabbed him on Tuesday.

More than three dozen cases of oil theft have been registered against Keshwani, 38, across the city under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). Six years ago, he had fled to Atlanta, the US, and managed to acquire a Green Card.

Various wings of the city police, including the detection staff, were looking for him and had once visited his Silvassa property six months ago. "The officers learnt that he had sold his property, but they got an old number of Keshwani's from his neighbours," a senior police officer told mid-day. "The number was out of service. But, the detection staff used it to retrieve the IMEI number of the handset it was being used on. The IMEI number was put on technical surveillance."

Sewri police recently noticed that his mobile handset was active and they traced the tower location to Surat, where he had come three months back for his father's last rites.

On the order of Deputy Commissioner of Police Ganesh Shinde, the Special Squad of Wanted Criminals of Sewri police, including police inspector Hanmant Kumbhare and his constables Santosh More and Abhijeet Jadhav, left for Surat.

There, they started tracing a mobile number to which Keshwani made the most calls. With the help of local police, they detained the user, identified as a friend of Keshwani, and laid a trap. Sewri police brought Keshwani to Mumbai on Wednesday, and a court sent him to police remand.

"Keshwani was wanted in over three dozen cases registered at Wadala, Sewri, Silvassa Daman, Byculla and JJ Marg police stations in HPCL oil theft cases registered in 2015 against 11 people. Seven had been arrested, while four, including Keshwani, escaped," said another officer. "In Atlanta, Keshwani was working with a private firm. In Surat, he had a company named AK Enterprises, which is involved in refining crude oil."