Thieves break into 14 shops in Thane, steal only ₹27k from 8 shops due to UPI payments | Mumbai news
The police on Wednesday registered a case against unknown thieves after a series of break-ins were discovered that morning in Thane’s Charai area. The unknown group of thieves broke into 14 shops, including a doctor’s clinic, an Ayurvedic store, a paint shop, and a salon, all located within a 100-meter radius by breaking open their shutters. Since most shops received payments through digital transactions, the thieves stole around ₹27,000 from eight shops only, said police.
This is the second incident in less than a month, raising concerns about law and order in the city, following an earlier case where a sword-wielding gang went on threatening shopkeepers in Vartak Nagar.
Vinod Prajapati, a carpenter and shop owner, narrowly escaped huge financial loss as he had only received payments through UPI lately. “On Tuesday, I felt bad as I didn’t earn enough, and whatever I did, they were through online payments, so I had no cash in the drawer. At 7am on Wednesday, I got a call from someone who lives in the building opposite my shop, telling me my shutter had been broken,” he said.
Prajapati arrived at his shop and found that five to six other shops in the vicinity had also been broken into. Expressing frustration, he said, “We are self-employed and do not earn in lakhs. Small shop owners like us have no security from the authorities. If thefts like these keep happening, who will be held responsible.”
Dr Shamika Tipnis, the owner of a dental clinic in Thane that was broken into, and her staff expressed concerns about their safety as it was the second time that thieves have targeted her clinic. The first time it was broken into was in December 2017, said Dr Tipnis. “We are terrified, and I can’t help but wonder how this is happening again and again. Something needs to be done to prevent such incidents in the future.”
Charai’s residents and shopkeepers questioned how effective night patrols are if such large-scale thefts continue to occur. Sharad Kelkar, a resident who went to buy milk in the morning, said, “All shutter locks were intact, but were broken from the other side. A paper stall owner’s CCTV captured footage of a few thieves in the area around 4.06am”
Harsh Jain, whose shop was also broken into, complained to the police. An FIR was registered under Sections 305A (theft) and 331 (house breakings).”
Bringing swords in office
Towards the end of February, a group of armed youths stormed into an office in Thane’s Vartak Nagar area and attacked two employees using swords and axes in what police believe was an extortion-related assault. The attack, which was captured on CCTV, showed the assailants vandalizing the office, destroying computers, and attempting to damage the security camera before fleeing.
The video of the footage went viral on social media, and within 24 hours, Crime Branch Unit 5 arrested three suspects—Tejas Hargule, 21; Appa Chaugule,19; and Sagar Dalvi, 31—all of whom have a history of extortion crimes.
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The police had registered a case under sections 109(1) (attempt to murder), 118 (causing grievous hurt using weapons), 308(5) (extortion), and 189 (unlawful assembly) of the BNS and investigations are ongoing to determine whether the accused were part of a larger criminal network.
Valuables worth ₹5.12 lakh robbed from cop’s house
THANE: A thief broke into a police officer’s house inside the police quarters in Thane and made away with valuables worth ₹5,12,000. The theft happened over the weekend when nobody was inside the residence.
The officer, who lives with her husband and two young children in a police quarter at Court Naka, had been transferred for a two-month training at the Solapur Police Training Center. She moved to Solapur with her children, while her husband remained in the house.
On Friday, the officer’s husband locked the house before he left for Solapur to visit the officer. When he returned on Monday, he found several items from the cupboard missing.
When he inspected the cupboard’s safe, he found some gold jewellery and cash missing. The total stolen items include many pieces of gold ornaments and ₹1,57,000 in cash, bringing the total loss to ₹5,12,000.
On Tuesday, a case was registered at Thane Nagar Police Station, and an investigation is underway.
