Mumbai: Man who stole colleague’s cash to pay hotel bills held

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A shopaholic has been arrested after four months for stealing Rs 1.2 lakh from his colleague. MIDC police arrested Vipul Vilas Pradhan from Lonavala, where he was living with his family on rent.

Pradhan, a 38-year-old account assistant, initially lived in Thane with his mother, brother and sister. He would spend all his salary on shopping and alcohol, and would later rely on his siblings. He, however, was in charge of paying the rent for the flat, but in March the landlord got in touch with his family over non-payment of rent.

Also read: Maharashtra: Man commits thefts in Thane after losses in gold business; held

"Within a night, the family packed their bags and moved to Relax Residency, a hotel in Sakinaka. Pradhan had claimed he had joined a new company which was sponsoring their stay at the hotel. They booked two rooms and lived there for 15 days," said an officer.

The hotel asked him to pay the bills in April, and Pradhan stole from his colleague, an accountant. "The accountant had withdrawn Rs 1.2 lakh for the treatment of her ailing father. However, she found the cash missing the next day and filed a complaint," said another cop.

Senior Inspector Satish Gaikwad ordered formation of a dedicated team, led by Assistant Inspector Kuna Mohite, to track the thief. "During probe, we found a CCTV camera that recorded Pradhan stealing the money. But we could not track him. For four months, Pradhan and his family were out of reach," said Mohite.

Cops got input earlier this month that Pradhan was hiding in Lonavala and arrested him from there on July 10. Gaikwad said Pradhan was arrested along with six others in September 2008 for kidnapping and dacoity in Thane.