He would dress up well in order to mingle with the crowd at weddings, especially in Khar, Bandra, before fleeing with wallets and valuables
For the past 10 years, a 43-year-old man has been dressing up and attending weddings he hasn't been invited to. The Govandi resident's sole motive was to steal cash and valuables from guests at weddings. Safiq Shaikh's criminal run came to an end on Tuesday as Kurla cops nabbed him red-handed. As per police sources, around 10 to 15 theft cases are registered against Shaikh across various Mumbai police stations.
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Safiq Shaikh, the accused
On Tuesday, homemaker Rekha Bagnani, 51, was returning to her Thane residence with her husband and son, after attending a wedding in Khar, when Shaikh struck the family. "The Bagnanis were waiting for a train at Kurla station when Shaikh walked near them, snatched Rekha's wallet and ran. Rekha and her husband chased the thief while raising an alarm. It caught the attention of the Kurla police patrol team at the station, who nabbed him," a Kurla police officer said. The cops also retrieved Rekha's wallet, which contained Rs 1.13 lakh in cash.
"Shaikh is wanted in several theft cases. He dresses up in expensive clothes – suits and sherwanis – to attend weddings. He mostly targets guests at high-profile Khar and Bandra weddings. After spotting a good target, he waits for his victims to get engaged in eating or chatting with their bags placed somewhere nearby, before grabbing those bags and fleeing," the officer added.
Police Inspector Sadanand Rane said, "The patrolling team of Inspector Dattatray Karpe caught the accused. We have booked Shaikh under section 392 of the IPC for theft."
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