A former gram pradhan in Rampur Rajwadi village of Pratapgarh district in Uttar Pradesh was arrested on Wednesday night in Allahabad and brought to Mumbai on Friday on charges of breaking in houses and stealing valuables in Vasai, Navi Mumbai and Thane. But the quirky bit about his modus operandi is he used to book air tickets in advance to conduct robberies in the city.

The accused Aslam Israel Shaikh was brought to Mumbai yesterday. Pic/Hanif Patel