CCTV cameras captured them stealing from an Andheri club and a banquet hall in Oshiwara; mid-day had reported earlier that the kids are part of a gang of wedding thieves from a village in Madhya Pradesh
Mumbai crime, wedding thieves, MP teenagers, Madhya Pradesh, Mumbai, wedding thieves gang, Andheri Recreation Club, Oshiwara, Mumbai
The teenage duo caught stealing from a wedding in Kandivli have pulled off thefts at two other weddings in Andheri and Oshiwara before.
Also read: Beware! An entire village is in Mumbai to steal from weddings
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Police in D N Nagar and Oshiwara recovered CCTV footage from the venues after theft cases were lodged with them regarding the same. mid-day had reported on December 9 that nearly 50 people from Jatkhedi village in Madhya Pradesh had come to the city to target wedding functions.
A parent would be stationed outside wedding halls, selling toys while a brother-sister duo would go inside and steal cash and valuables kept in bags. The Kandivli police had caught the family red-handed in a wedding, on December 7.
More robberies
It has now emerged that the duo struck two weddings one in Andheri and the other in Oshiwara on the same day. On November 30, the 13-year-old boy and the 16-year-old girl turned up at the Andheri Recreation Club, dressed for a wedding.
The CCTV camera captures the girl doing a recce of the area, and the boy goes up on the stage to play with the other kids. The boy then sits beside a woman who has a briefcase, lifts it smoothly and leaves the stage.
The brother and sister left the recreation club at 1.43 pm on November 30
The duo are seen exiting the club, the girl leading, at 1.43 pm, with the boy holding a blue polythene bag containing the stolen valuables worth Rs 1.5 lakh. Hours later, they reach Maheshwari Hall in Oshiwara, where the wedding of a relative of Praful Haldankar, the complainant, was underway.
Hours later, they stole a briefcase from Maheshwari Hall, Oshiwara, as well
Speaking to mid-day, Haldankar said, “The kids entered the hall around 4 pm. The girl waited while the boy came up on stage and played with other children. He even plucked a few flowers from the decor, for which a woman scolded him. The boy was acting as if he was part of the group. How can we doubt a child?”
mid-day’s December 9 report
Haldankar’s son was taking care of a briefcase containing gifts given to the couple. When a relative gave them an envelope, the son looked to keep it in the briefcase but was shocked to find it missing. The bag had cash, gold and gifts the couple had received.
“The girl directed the boy when to strike. She was the captain. The kids were perfectly trained,” added Haldankar. The lost gifts were valued at more than Rs 3 lakh. The cases were registered at D N Nagar police station and Oshiwara police station, respectively, on the same day.
Senior Police Inspector Rajendra Chavan of D N Nagar police station said, “The case is now detected as these are the same kids arrested in Kandivli. We are taking permission from the court to take custody of the accused.”
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