A team from DB Marg police station in south Mumbai worked through the night and recovered a stolen cell phone within four hours of the complaint being filed. The phone was handed over to the shocked and grateful complainant on Saturday, who took to Twitter to express his appreciation.
According to the police, a OnePlus 7 belonging to Janak Shah (22), was snatched by two men on a bike while he was getting into a cab near Royal Opera House around 2 a.m. on Saturday. Mr. Shah approached the police and left at 4 a.m. after filing a complaint.
The investigating team, led by police inspector Wasim Patel, started by scanning Closed Circuit Television camera footage of the spot where the offence had occurred.
“We saw the accused but could not get any leads, as the licence plate was broken. We then got in touch with some local informants,” Mr. Patel said.
Shortly, he received a tip-off, saying the suspects were in Nagpada. Mr. Patel and his team rushed to the spot and intercepted the accused.
“The duo was still on the same motorcycle with the broken license plate, and their body language, too, indicated that they were hiding something. We stopped them and found the stolen cell phone on them, and we took them to the police station for further inquiries,” Mr. Patel said.
Confronted with all the evidence regarding their involvement, the duo, Imran Sheikh (30) and Amit Jha (28), confessed to having stolen the cell phone. They were arrested and charged with theft under the Indian Penal Code.
Mr. Shah later tweeted, “To my absolute surprise, PSI Vasim called me at 7AM and informed me that they found the culprits and recovered my phone. Thank you PSI Vasim, PSI Aniket, PI Namrata Lokhande and Sr.PI Suryakant Bangar. Special mention to staff Salvi, Waradi, Nayakwadi and Mohite. (4/5) (sic),”
The Maharashtra police, through its official Twitter handle, lauded the investigating team’s achievements as well.
“When the world was asleep at 3 a.m, PSI Wasim Patel and Aniket Sawant of @MumbaiPolice DB Marg Police Station acting upon @Janak_S phone theft complaint, burned the midnight oil and in record 4 hours times apprehended the thieves, handing over the phone to the @Janak_S at 7 a.m. (sic),” the police tweeted, along with screenshots of Mr. Shah’s tweet.
