13-yr-old held for robberies at Khairnar's residence

Sat, Nov 7 12:15 PM

Mumbai, Nov. 7 -- Crime Branch officials on Friday caught the robber who struck former deputy municipal commissioner G.R. Khairnar's Juhu residence thrice in two months.

And the culprit is a 13-year-old orphan. Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rakesh Maria said four mobile phones and the Lenovo laptop that the boy had allegedly stolen from Khairnar's second-floor flat have been recovered.

Maria said the teenager had climbed to the window and entered the flat by squeezing between the gaps of the window grille. "He is a lanky boy who would sneak into homes through narrow passages," Maria said.

On October 6, Khairnar had lodged a complaint with the DN Nagar police stating that his laptop and two mobile phones worth over Rs 70,000 were stolen from his second-floor flat in Ideal Apartments on Gulmohur Road. Earlier, two mobile phones had also been stolen from his house, he told the police.

Based on a tip-off, the Crime Branch sleuths caught the teenager, who lives with his grandmother, from the Hanuman Nagar slums at Irla in Vile Parle (West) and found the stolen items in his shanty. Though his uncle, who works abroad, used to support his expenses, the teenager took to stealing, the police said.

During questioning, the teenager reportedly confessed to have stolen another laptop which he had given to his neighbour, Yahya Himmat Khan (38), who is employed as a driver. The sleuths are trying to trace the owner of this laptop.

The boy has been sent to the children's rehabilitation centre.

Inside News

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