41-year-old held for stealing phones; Mumbai cops say he committed crime to fund expenses of two wives

Pic/Samiullah Khan

The Malad Police arrested a 41-year-old man who turned to fraud to manage the expenses of his two wives. Facing financial difficulties, the accused devised a scheme to lure young job seekers with fake promises of part-time jobs. Once the complainants met him to discuss the job, he would flee with their mobile phones.

After months of investigation, the police apprehended the accused and recovered 18 stolen mobile phones from him.

According to the Malad Police, the accused confessed that he committed the crime due to financial struggles, which arose from having to support two households.

A case has been registered against the accused, Mohammed Kasim Shaikh alias Atif, and further investigations are ongoing to determine if he has duped more people.

According to police sources, the Mumbra resident had married for the second time around seven years ago. He had one son from each of his marriages.

Both his wives live separately in two different houses which he has taken on rent in different areas of Mumbra.

Shaikh initially operated a small clothing business but struggled to earn enough from it. To supplement his income, he worked as a part-time food delivery executive. However, after his second marriage, the growing expenses of supporting two households became overwhelming for him. Desperate to meet the financial demands, he turned to fraud, the police said.

Police recovered 18 phones from the accused. Pic/Samiullah Khan

The accused would approach students and young people looking for jobs by roaming across various areas around Mumbra. He would particularly target those carrying expensive mobile phones, the police said. Shaikh would befriend them and offer enticing job opportunities, claiming that they could earn between Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 for just an hour of work. His scheme involved luring victims to posh areas and promising them tasks such as loading and unloading clothes for branded companies.

Once he gained their trust, he would arrange to meet them outside reputed clothing stores and, under the pretense of discussing job details, flee with their mobile phones.

"He has deceived four individuals in Malad alone. He has carried out similar crimes in Bandra, Colaba, Marine Drive, Khar, and various locations within the Thane district. He used to cover his rent and other expenses by selling the phones he stole from the complainants," said an officer.

The Malad Police, who were on the lookout for Shaikh, came to know about the accused from the police station where he had been arrested before. Once they confirmed that the description shared by the complainant matched with their suspect, the cops checked the call data record (CDR) of the accused. Malad Police personnel had been roaming around various clothing markets for months in a bid to nab Shaikh. On Thursday, he was arrested from Lokhandwala in Andheri.

Shortly before his arrest, Shaikh had allegedly duped a job seeker of his mobile phone and later went to Lokhandwala in a bid to cheat another person, the officer added.

"Under the guidance of DCP (Deputy Commissioner of Police) Anand Bhoite, senior inspector Vijaykumar Panhale, inspector Sanjay Bedwal, API (Assistant Inspector) Mahesh Mundhe along with detection officer PSI (Sub-inspector) Tushar Sukhdev and their team traced the accused and apprehended him after months of investigation and recovered 18 stolen mobile phones from him. He has confessed to his crimes," said Assistant Police Commissioner Hemant Sawant. "Further inquiries are ongoing. We urge the citizens to remain cautious about job offers from unverified sources," he added.