All the world's a stage, but if you're acting to save your skin after committing a crime, the Mumbai police will see through it. The Ghatkopar police recently detained four employees of a gas agency in a robbery case. One of them, a small-time actor, pretended to be mute, but the police put on a far better act that finally scared him into confessing.

According to police sources, Sachin There, 33, manager of Ashok Gas Service Agency in Asalfa, lodged a complaint in the first week of December. He said someone barged into his shop and fled with R30,000. The same day, police spotted a suspect near Jagruti Nagar metro station who matched the description There gave. However, the suspect was 'mute'. An officer said though they believed he was mute, they still asked him to write down what he knew. He then wrote down three names. He named three people who worked at the gas agency. They were brought to the police station where they confessed to their crime.