One night, 8 thefts in 20 mins flat

In less than 20 minutes, a gang of five broke into eight shops at Vasant Marvel Complex in Borivli and stole cash and electronic goods collectively amounting to Rs21 lakh on Thursday.

Though the five escaped after the crime, three CCTV cameras in the complex and inside a shop have captured robbery and also the faces of the burglars.

“Two faces are quite clear in the cameras and the CCTV footage will help us trace the culprits without much difficulty. We have deployed a team to trace them,” said Bharat Worlikar, senior police inspector of Kasturba Marg police station.

The robbers came on bikes around 5am, about half-an-hour after the police finish patrolling the area. Armed with hand bars and rods,they broke opened the shutters of shops on the complex’s ground floor.

Seventy laptops were stolen from the shops, of which 67 were stolen from Om Sai Corporation and three from Hith Impex Pvt Ltd.

The burglars stole around Rs10,000 from nearby shops -- Car Kala and Boomerang Electronics.

“The burglary took place in less than 20 minutes. While three people stood guard outside, the other two broke into the shops and stole the goods,” said Worlikar.

He said that the five seem to be part of a gang, who are experts in break-ins.

“The police finish patrolling duty around 4.30am. The gang knew that and broke in at 5am,” he added.

The complex had three guards, including a guard in a nearby ATM outlet.

“All three guards were fast asleep during the robbery. None of the guards realised that the shops had been broken into until a shopkeeper who was inside a shop heard a sound and came out. The burglars fled seeing him,” added Worlikar.

@radhika1705