What does a chainsmoker do when he runs out of a cigarette? Jay Bhaghel simply looted the neighbourhood paanwalla for his favourite brand
Jay Bhagel
A wealthy 25-year-old MBA student's chronic addiction to cigarettes caused him to risk his reputation for a few packets of his favourite brand. The student from Kurar, Jay Bhaghel, who broke into a paan shop in the dead of the night to get his cigarette fix, is now pondering his future behind the bars of a jail cell.
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CCTV footage shows Bhaghel, who works at a five-star, taking an iron rod from his car boot to break open the shop
Ran out of favourite brand
On February 3, Bhaghel, who works with a hotel, was drinking at a bar till 2.30 am. When he left the place, he checked his pockets to find that he had just three cigarettes left. Bhaghel usually went through at least three packets a day. Not realising what time it was, he decided to stop by the paan shop that stocked his favourite brand. When he reached the spot, he found the shop closed, but, that did not stop him. He went back to his car, took out an iron rod from the boot and broke open the lock on the shop.
Also read: Thief poses as customer, steals second-hand bike from Mumbai shop
Walking away with the stash
Threw away the rest
A police officer said, "He put all the cigarette packets that he found inside the shop into a large bag and returned home. At home, he separated his favourite brand from the pile and threw the rest out of his window." The next morning, when the shop owner found his shop broken into, he lodged an FIR with the Kurar police, who immediately got cracking on the case.
Bhaghel walking away with the loot after breaking into the pan shop
CCTV nails him
There was a CCTV camera available on the street and when the police checked the footage, they saw the entire robbery played out before them. The police then retrieved the car number from the footage and found that it was registered at the Madhya Pradesh RTO from where the police collected information related to the car owner. There, the police got Bhaghel's phone number and address as the car was registered in his own name. After that, the Kurar police tracked Bhaghel's mobile tower location and found that he lived in the same locality. An officer said, "On February 8, we laid a trap and arrested the accused from the Kurar area. We also recovered the property that he had stolen from the shop. The accused was produced before court, which sent him to jail custody."
Wealthy family in MP
The police said Bhaghel comes from a wealthy family and his father is an established businessman in Madhya Pradesh, who also owns a petrol pump. According to the police, he is addicted to cigarettes and alcohol and goes through several packets a day. Bhaghel had tried to study law in Bengaluru, but left the course midway. He then came to Mumbai and began an MBA course. He simultaneously started working with a five-star hotel in their management team.
3
No. of packets that Jay Bhaghel smokes a day
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