This thief's average monthly income pegged at Rs 3.6L

AHMEDABAD: When Irfan Shaikh, 35, started narrating his adventures, officials at Ellisbridge police station were wide-eyed. The reason was apparent: he confessed to having stolen goods worth Rs 25 lakh in seven months. It put his monthly earnings at Rs 3.57 lakh, more than some of the CEOs in the city. However, the 'modest' man used to roam around on a battered scooter.

According to police, it was an arrest that solved a number of cases. Inspector JB Gadhavi, who investigated the case, told TOI that seven cases with Ellisbridge police station have been detected but he is found to be involved in at least 20 daylight burglaries in Kalupur, Shaherkotda, Gaekwad Haveli and Danilimda.

"Shaikh was nabbed by vigilant residents of Vallabh Flats on Saturday when he went to steal goods. He was locked inside the house on second floor by the owner Dr Ajit Shah. Then he tried to climb down using a sari. However, local residents ran for help on hearing Shah's shouts. They called us and we nabbed Shaikh," said Gadhavi.

Shaikh turned out to be the man who had stolen Rs 15 lakh and Rs 7.7 lakh respectively from two houses in a matter of 45 days. "He used to roam around on his scooter between 12 noon and 4.30pm and search for locked houses. He would then use a screw driver and a small crowbar to break the locks and enter the house. He stole almost everything - money, jewellery, valuables and even dollars - from the house targeted. We have started the hunt for the jeweller who used to buy the valuables from him," said Gadhavi.

Another modus operandi involved theft on special days. "He knew that religious festivities meant more money at the house and frequent visits outside. He used days like Ramzan Eid, Muharram, Ganesh Visarjan and Rath Yatra to strike. We came to know that he was a gambler and also used to spend money on women. We are yet to recover the goods from him," said a police official.


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