Mumbai: Cops net spidermen who robbed homes in suburbs

The Santacruz police have arrested two pipeclimbing burglars who got the moniker lsquospidermen as they are adept at scaling tall buildings using drainage pipes and sneaking into flats through bathroom windowsThe lean physique of the robbers identified as Sunny Chand Pawar 27 and Rahul Sadashiv Mudani 20 helped them conduct the risky heists said copsAn officer privy to the investigation told midday that over a dozen housebreaking cases are registered against them across police stations in MumbaiAlso Read Mumbai Labourer dies at site of Uddhav Thackerayrsquos new houseThe robbers have conducted their risky heists mostly in the western suburbsVersova DN Nagar Santacruz Andheri and other police stationswhere affluent people resideRecce conductedThe robbers would conduct recces immediately after sunset to see if lights were switched on inside flatsThe lsquospidermenrsquo Rahul Sadashiv Mudani right Sunny Chand PawarldquoNo lights would mean the residents are away The duo would watch these flats for three to four days at a stretch to see if there was any movement in the flat After they were sure that there was no one at home they would check for an easy way to enter the building and later scale the drainage pipes to break into the flats through the bathroom windowsrdquo said the officerPawar is a garbageseller while Mudani is a nullah cleaner and they are both residents of Andheri West ldquoBoth are slim which makes it easy for them to sneak into flats through bathroom windowsrdquo said the policeCase that led to arrestA similar incident took place on May 4 at Usha Villa Society at Linking Road Santacruz West where the robbers scaled the drainage pipes and entered one of the flats on the second floor and decamped with valuables ldquoIt was the flat of an electrical contractor Sunil Bajaj 66 who owns two flats on the second floor The Bajaj family was sleeping in one flat the night the robbers broke into the other flatrdquo said an officer privy to the investigationThe duo stole valuables worth R150 lakh ldquoThey stole 15kg of silver including 20 silver glasses one silver jug 12 silver bowls and three silver dishesrdquo said the policeThe next morning the Bajaj family was alarmed to see their flat ransacked and approached Santacruz police station where a First Information Report FIR was registeredUnder the guidance of DCP Krishnakant Upadhyay Senior Inspector Rajendra Kane formed a team of PI Mahesh Bolkotgi PI Arun Ghodke PSI Dhananjay Awhad constable Naitaji Kamble Juber Saldurkar Rahul Parab Bhatu Mahajan and MestriCCTV helpedDuring investigation the cops recovered CCTV footage in which the duo was seen on the society premises and their movement was suspicious ldquoSince both of them are habitual offenders it took us no time to nail them from Veera Desai Roadrdquo said an officerMudani and Pawar were arrested under the various sections of the IPC The police said they are involved in many similar theft casesA couple of years ago Mudani was arrested by the Versova police in a similar offence said the officer