Eleven years on, cops track down Mumbai Central man whose wallet was picked while he was boarding a local
Sandesh Parab
Did you lose something over a decade ago? Have you found/got it back? Do you even remember what it was? It was, after all, a long time ago. So you can imagine Mumbai Central resident Sandesh Parab's surprise when the cops tracked him down to his new home recently to inform him that the money he had been robbed of in 2007 had been recovered and would be given to him on November 7 (today).
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The 37-year-old who works at a multiplex, expressed a mix of shock, happiness and amnesia when told that he would be getting the Rs 5,000 back, said sources in Andheri GRP.
Parab told mid-day, "It happened on May 7; my dad had sent me to Vile Parle to deposit the LIC premium. I never ended up doing it though, and I don't remember why. I took a train from Vile Parle, and on getting down at Mumbai Central, I realised my wallet was missing. I searched there and then went back to Vile Parle station to search some more, but no luck. I realised someone must have picked it."
He had then lodged a complaint with the Andheri GRP. After following it up for a few days, he gave up. Had he persisted for a few more, he would have got the money, as the police had arrested the accused, Taimur Khan, then 19, and recovered the cash.
With no complainant showing up, the police kept the cash safe with them. Meanwhile, even as the case went to trial, the accused got bail and absconded. The court recently disposed of the case and told the police to return the money to Parab. Here's where you realise so much has happened over the last decade — the money Parab lost were all old currency notes, now demonetised. Hence, the police deposited the money in a bank and wrote a cheque for him.
It took constables Mohan Ghaste, Suresh Hatankar and Sahebrao Birajdar a week to find Parab as his mobile number and address had changed. "Initially, when they came home, I couldn't even recall the case; they had to take me through it. I am happy to get it back on Diwali," said Parab.
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