Lawyer arrested for stealing colleagues’ valuables in court

A 37-year-old female lawyer from Chembur was arrested for stealing valuables from various courts in Mumbai

MUMBAI: The Kurla police on Friday arrested a 37-year-old female lawyer from Chembur for allegedly stealing valuables of other lawyers from various metropolitan magistrate courts, the Mumbai sessions court, and the Bombay high court. The accused has admitted to committing the crime in other courts too, said the police.

At a press conference on Friday, the Pune rural police confirmed that during a May 15 raid, a three-storeyed building in Narayan Gaon, they arrested 93 individuals and detained three minors. (REPRESENTATIVE PHOTO)

As per the police, the lawyer, Babita Malik, was financially unstable and struggling with depression as she was unable to get any clients and started stealing the valuables of other lawyers and clients while they were busy in court matters.

On Wednesday, the complainant, Farhin Himayat Ali Chaudhari, 28, a resident of Trombay, had gone to the Kurla court. While she was in court number 60/61 before the judges, her and her friend’s bag — valued around ₹42,000 — was stolen from the court.

“The bags contained purse, headphone, charger, papers, identity cards, debit and credit cards, power bank and silver coins,” said Ashok Khot, senior police inspector of Kurla police station. “They lodged a theft complaint, and we started investigating the matter. When we checked the CCTV footage, we discovered the accused was wearing a lawyer’s dress. She was identified with the help of other lawyers and was picked up from the Sion area,” said Khot. The police have recovered the stolen valuables from the accused.

Another theft case registered at the Azad Maidan police station of a lawyer’s bag being stolen from the Bombay high court was solved. “She has told us she was in financial distress after not getting clients and was depressed due to it, so she started committing crimes. We are verifying things. She is unmarried. We have her in police custody till 20 May,” said Khot.