Robber nabbed with ₹17.5 lakh after dramatic chase

Mourya, a resident of Dahisar, committed thefts and robberies in the Mira-Bhainder-Vasai-Virar regions to fund his addiction for online games like speed ludo, carrom and rummy

Mumbai: Quick thinking on the part of a young woman and assistance from locals helped the Pelhar police nab a 20-year-old robber after a dramatic chase across the roofs of several houses in Vasai east’s Tungareshwar neighbourhood on Saturday.

Robber nabbed with ₹17.5 lakh after dramatic chase

According to the Pelhar police, Dheeraj Gulab Mourya, a history sheeter wanted in over 20 cases of robbery, took just seven minutes to break into the house of Neetu Singh, 22, who works in a factory in Waliv. When Singh returned home on Saturday for lunch, she found the lock of her main door broken and saw a man ransacking her cupboards inside. Instead of raising an alarm, she quietly latched the main door from outside and informed the police. “I was scared but instead of shouting, I closed the door assuming that he was armed and could harm me,” said Singh.

Inspector Shivanand Deokar from the Pelhar police station said, “We reached the spot within five minutes of getting her call. But we were shocked when we unlocked the main door, as the robber had made a hole in the tin roof and had escaped through it.”

Police officials launched a hunt for Mourya in the neighbourhood and found him running away with cash and jewellery stuffed in his pocket. They chased Mourya for 20 minutes, jumping off roofs and make-shift mezzanine floors till he was caught by some locals.

“We arrested Mourya and recovered jewellery and cash worth ₹17.5 lakh, which he had stolen in a single day from at least 10 houses in Vasai and Nalasopara,” said Deokar.

Mourya, a resident of Dahisar, committed thefts and robberies in the Mira-Bhainder-Vasai-Virar regions to fund his addiction for online games like speed ludo, carrom and rummy, he said.

“Mourya is accused in at least 27 cases of theft and house breaking in police stations from Dahisar to Virar. We have arrested him for house-breaking and will produce him in court,” said a police officer.