The Panvel City police have arrested a 42-year-old man who posed as a Muslim cleric during the day and committed thefts at night.
A team led by police sub inspector Sunil Tarmale arrested Hussain Arif Sajeed Hussain from Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, on Monday and brought him to Navi Mumbai on Wednesday. He was produced before the court and has been remanded in police custody till Saturday. The police began its probe after a case of theft of an Alto car was registered on September 8, 2019. Technical evidence showed that the car had travelled to U.P.
“With the help of informers we tracked Mr. Hussain and found him using the car. We also found that he was arrested in 2016 for breaking into houses in Taloja, Rabale, Khalapur and Kalyan,” Mr. Tarmale said.
The police said Mr. Hussain visited mosques and posed as a cleric. “He would dress up as a cleric and offer prayers at mosques. No one suspected him as he looked like a pious man. He would either steal mobile phones or cash kept in the watchman’s cabin as he noticed that no one registered complaints in such instances. His aim was to make money to survive the next day,” Mr. Tarmale said.
The police have recovered two mobile phones from the accused.
