2 held for tying up and robbing 80-yr-old and her helper

MUMBAI: Two robbers arrested for stealing gold and ₹1.5 lakh from an 80-year-old woman in Vile Parle, after posing as plumbers and tying up the victims.

MUMBAI: The crime branch on Friday arrested two robbers who allegedly barged in an 80-year-old woman’s flat in Vile Parle last Sunday and forcefully robbed her gold and ₹1.5 lakh in cash. They bound the hands and legs of the senior citizen, and her partially deaf domestic worker, before they carried out the theft.

2 held for tying up and robbing 80-yr-old and her helper

Police said the two robbers Babu Anand Sindal, 27, and Shweta Jayesh Ladge, 35, knew each other very well and lived in the same locality in Versova, Andheri West. Sindal, who works in real estate, already has a cheating and forgery case registered against him at Versova police station. He had been arrested by the police and came out on bail last year. Ladge works as an agent who helps domestic workers get jobs, she had also helped the one in their targeted house. The police are searching for a third accomplice who is also involved.

On January 5 afternoon, the senior citizen and her domestic worker were inside the ground floor flat of a four-storey building situated at Subhash Road. The senior citizen’s son was out at work. Sindal and Ladge knocked on the door, allegedly introducing themselves as plumbers who wanted to check the kitchen tap. “After the domestic worker let them inside, Sindal took out a knife and threatened her. He tied her up and gagged her mouth with cello tape,” said police inspector Laxmikant Salunkhe of Unit 8.

Then they entered the hall, where the elderly woman was sitting. They threatened to kill her if she made any noise before tying her up too. They switched on the television and increased the volume to ensure the women’s cries are not heard by neighbours. The two made away with gold jewellery the senior citizen was wearing, worth ₹6.5 lakh, and cash of ₹1.5 lakh from a cupboard. The incident came to light after the victim’s son returned from work.

Unit 8 of the Crime Branch conducted a parallel investigation. “When we inquired how the maid got her job, we found out it was Shweta who had introduced her to the elderly woman. Shweta’s Call Detail Records (CDR) in her mobile showed she made many calls to Sindal on the day of the theft,” the officer added. The duo was questioned separately and they eventually confessed to the crime, said deputy commissioner of police Vishal Thakur of the crime branch.

Both the accused have been handed over to the Vile Parle police station for further investigation.