24-year-old thief roaming nude and with oily body nabbed by Rabale cops

A 24-year-old man from Kalwa who made petty thefts during wee hours by roaming nude and applying oil on his body has been arrested by Rabale police; His modus operandi was to roam around nude with oil on his body and steal whatever valuables were available through the windows

A 24-year-old man from Kalwa who made petty thefts during wee hours by roaming stark naked and applying oil on his body has been nabbed by Rabale police.

A 24-year-old thief roaming nude and with oily body was nabbed by Rabale cops. (HT FILE PHOTO)

After the CCTV footage of him roaming in the narrow lanes of Digha went viral, Rabale police nabbed him. The CCTV footage was doing the rounds since the last four days and panic spread among Digha residents after the message being forwarded mentioned that a thief roamed around nude in the wee hours to steal valuables.

“It was important for us to trace him as there was fear spread among the public. With the help of CCTV footage, we identified him and traced him to Kalwa,” senior police inspector Sudhir Patil from Rabale MIDC police station said.

The detained man has around nine cases against him at Kalwa station while an FIR is yet to be registered with Rabale MIDC police. “He was found to have dengue and hence he has been admitted to a hospital. Once discharged, we would find if he was involved in any of the thefts in Digha and arrest him accordingly,” Patil said.

His modus operandi was to roam around nude in the narrow lanes of chawl settlements with oil on his whole body and steal whatever valuables were available through the windows. He applies oil so that if he got caught, he could slip away easily. The reason for roaming around nude was to scare people if anyone found him stealing, said the police.