Sion police nab thief with a thing for band baaja baraats

Anybody spotting 35-year-old Shafiq Firdous Shaikh at a wedding would not for a second suspect that he is a thief. Suave and genteel, he would effortlessly pose as a well-dressed guest, freely mingling with the crowds.

The only difference was that he was not there to give the bride and groom his best wishes. His eyes, instead, were on the ornaments and flowing cash which are an integral part of weddings.

However, Shaikh's modus operandi was discovered recently when the Sion police finally caught up with this 35-year-old who would only target weddings and had almost perfected his crime.

According to Sion police, Shaikh attended a marriage function at Manav Seva Sangh Hall on July 15, 2014 and left with gold and silver coins and Rs 50,000 in cash.

The complainant, Rita Hariya, told the police that while the marriage function was underway, they realised they were missing a red bag which had all the valuables kept near the stage. On the basis of Hariya's complaint, the Sion police registered an FIR and started their investigation.

Police inspector Dattaram Girap said "We arrested Shaikh from Deonar based on a tip-off from our informer. He has carried out a similar kind of robbery in Sion's North Indian Hall earlier. Shaikh would dress up as a guest and even mingle with the people. No one would suspect him because the bride's family would think that he is a guest from the groom's side and vice-versa. We are checking records to find out whether he has carried out such robberies in any other area of Mumbai."