Incidents reported in Fort, Janmabhoomi Press, Kala Ghoda; accused arrested near Kalimata temple, Kumbharwada junction
The accused, Govindswami Venkatswami. Pic/By Special arrangement
The MRA Marg police in Mumbai have arrested a 42-year-old man for stealing mobile phones by posing as a deaf-mute and distracting shop owners with donation pamphlets. Seven stolen phones were recovered from him.
The accused, Govindswami Venkatswami, a resident of Marunga, Tamil Nadu, allegedly targeted shopkeepers in South Mumbai. The first complaint was lodged by Himanshu Kirti Shah, who runs a shop near Fort. Venkatswami would roam around shops with donation pamphlets, pretending to be deaf-mute, and discreetly steal mobile phones while engaging shopkeepers.
Two thefts in a day
Police said the first incident occurred on June 6 between 12.45 pm and 1 pm near Janmabhoomi Press, where the accused stole Shah’s phone. Later, between 1.30 pm and 1.50 pm, he stole another phone belonging to 24-year-old Vaishnavi Manoj Dodke at Kala Ghoda.
Similar modus operandi
An officer from MRA Marg police said, “We received complaints of a similar modus operandi and recovered CCTV footage from the shops. Using the footage, we identified the accused and arrested him near Kalimata Temple, Kumbharwada Junction, on December 8.”
Since Venkatswami did not speak Marathi or Hindi, the police arranged a Tamil–Telugu interpreter. During interrogation, he confessed to the crimes.
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