Navi Mumbai: Eleven cases of house break-ins registered with the Koparkhairane police were solved following an arrest of a man on Monday.
The accused, identified as Gajanan Najare (45), a resident of Maniknagar in Panvel, was caught red-handed by Babu Khushid Aalam Shaikh, a resident of Sector 4A, Koparkhairane. On Monday evening, when Mr. Shaikh returned from work, he noticed that the door of his apartment was open. When he entered, he saw Najare searching for valuables. Mr. Shaikh caught hold of the accused and informed the Koparkhairane police.
“Investigations revealed that he was involved in 11 cases of house break-ins and we recovered valuables worth Rs. 8.10 lakh from him. The valuables included 25 tola jewellery and three laptops,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone-I) Prashant Khaire.
The accused, a 12th pass, belongs to a middle class family and his wife takes tuitions at home for a living. “He always roamed around in sports shoes, denims and T-shirts due to which no one could ever doubt his intentions. He had a bunch of 120 keys that he always carried and randomly tried on the flats which were locked,” said senior police inspector Satish Gaikwad of Koparkhairane station.
A few years ago, Najare was arrested by the NRI police for stealing laptops and after his release, he had made his family believe that he had mended his ways. “He had told his wife that he had got a job, and he used to leave home every day, for finding a new flat for break-in. We doubt that he must be involved in more cases and we are investigating,” said Mr. Gaikwad.
The writer is a freelance journalist
