IN PHOTOS: How facial recognition, footwear helped Mumbai Police nab Malad burglar

The Malad police, who had been hot on the trail of a jewellery shop burglar for an entire month, recently struck gold when they recognised him and arrested him from Uttar Pradesh. Pics/Arranged by Samiullah Khan

Updated On: 2025-06-06 04:02 PM IST

Compiled by : Asif Ali Sayed

The police said they had initially used facial recognition systems (FRS) to identify the burglar but it was his footwear, that he had forgotten to change, that finally gave him away. Pics/Arranged by Samiullah Khan

The arrested accused has been identified as 30-year-old Mukeem Mateen Khan

Last month, on May 26, the police arrested him on the charge of committing burglary in a jewellery shop at Malad West. Khan, a resident of Ghatkopar, is a fabricator by profession and originally hails from Uttar Pradesh

On April 28, Khan broke into the Ratankala jewellery shop, located opposite Malad station, by removing the window AC unit at the rear of the premises and stole jewellery worth approximately Rs 4.99 lakh

Following a complaint lodged by the jewellery shop owner, Malad police registered a case under relevant sections of the BNS on April 29. Acting under the guidance of Anand Bhoite, DCP, Zone XI; Vijay Panhale, SI; Deepak Revade, API; and Tushar Sukhdev, PSI, along with their team, an investigation was promptly launched. According to police sources, the accused frequently changed his clothes, altered his travel routes to evade arrest, and reached Ghatkopar before fleeing to Uttar Pradesh

A breakthrough came when the Versova police confirmed that the same individual had previously committed a similar theft at a shop. In an attempt to mislead the police, Khan had changed his clothes and his travel route -- but forgot to change his slippers. That minor detail proved crucial. Using the distinct slippers as an identifier in the CCTV footage, police traced him to Ghatkopar. An officer involved in the investigation stated, “Despite all his efforts to avoid being caught, those slippers ultimately gave him away”

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