Three women who posed as ragpickers, robbed shops in Goregaon, held

Investigations revealed that all accused are habitual offenders and have a similar cases filed against them.

The Vanrai police station arrested three women for posing as ragpickers and robbing shops at midnight. According to the police, the accused - Rajamma Kondur, 55; Shanti Devendra, 42; and Pallima Devendra, 40 - would break open the locks and escape with valuables in an autorickshaw. Police have also arrested the autorickshaw driver, Nurul Khan, 22, and seized the vehicle.

During investigation, it was revealed that all accused are habitual offenders and have a similar cases filed against them at Malad, Kandivli and Goregaon police stations. Last year, they were arrested by the Dindoshi police in a similar case.

Police said over 10 days ago, a burglary was reported at an electric shop at Sonawala, Goregaon. After a case was registered, the detection officer assistant police inspector Prashant Gangurde under the supervision of police inspector Rani Puri began investigation and found CCTV footage. However, the accused's faces were not clear in the footage. They then approached nearby police stations and the images they had, matched with the images provided by the Dindoshi police station.

When the approached the accused and began enquiry, they confessed to the crime. "We have booked the accused under sections 454, 457 and 380 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and have recovered 100 per cent of the stolen items. We have also arrested the autorickshaw driver. The accused were produced in court and remanded top judicial custody," a police officer from Vanrai police station said.

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