Man arrested for robbery in Thane residential complex pretended to be food delivery boy

Man arrested in a robbery at a plush residential complex in Thane is not a food delivery agent but was merely pretending to be one, claimed the Naupada Police a week after the robbery; the 19-year-old accused, Abhishek Dede, was working with a food delivery service for two months last year and was no longer an employee but still had the uniform

The man involved in a robbery at a plush residential complex in Thane is not a food delivery agent but was merely pretending to be one, claimed the Naupada Police a week after the robbery.

The man arrested for robbery in a residential complex in Thane pretended to be a food delivery boy, said the police. HT FILE (HT FILE)

The 19-year-old accused, Abhishek Dede, was working with a food delivery service for two months last year and was no longer an employee but still had the uniform. The Naupada police arrested Dede and another 30-year-old man, Jay Bhagat, who had masterminded the entire robbery – ₹10.20 lakh worth of jewellery. A minor who helped the duo was also held.

Bhagat was also the friend of the complainant and knew about the cash transactions and jewellery in the house, the police said. He also knew Dede had the food delivery dress and made use of him for the robbery.

The robbery was done on March 11, when Dede posed as food delivery agent and entered a plush housing complex in Panchpakhadi, Thane, on the pretext of delivering food and pretended to ask the woman of the house for water and threatened her at knife point when she returned with water.

The 39-year-old complainant was home with her 12-year-old son. She had not ordered food but agreed to give water on humanitarian grounds.

According to Naupada police, Bhagat took advantage of the friendship and planned this robbery as the complainant unknowingly shared information with him.

A Crime Branch Unit 1 officer said, “We started taking CCTV footage of the accused from eight to nine different areas from where he travelled. We saw a minor boy who helped him to keep an eye and flee the spot and arrested him. We started tracing each and every clue left by the accused. Through sources, we laid a trap and arrested him from Dombivli.”

The society has CCTV cameras and have security guards who maintain a register but the number that the accused gave was fake and due to the mask, his full face was not recognisable.

Naupada police senior police inspector, S Dhumal, added, “Using technical details like call records and those who have been in touch with the family for the past few months, we reached out to Bhagat. He is a friend of the complainant and knows the cash transaction done on a daily basis. He hired the two boys and planned this robbery. We are still to record statements of all of them to get a clear picture of the crime. We have registered a case under IPC Sections 452, 392 and 509.”

Naupada police have appealed to all the societies in their vicinity to take all the right details of visitors and asked them to remove mask for a few seconds in front of the CCTV to avoid such incidents.