Man held for stealing Mumbai woman cop’s service pistol

The Mumbai crime branch recovered the service pistol belonging to a woman sub-inspector, which went missing from a public toilet in Juhu almost six months ago. A 30-year-old criminal was arrested for stealing the weapon.

The Mumbai crime branch on Tuesday recovered the service pistol belonging to a woman sub-inspector, which went missing from a public toilet in Juhu almost six months ago. A 30-year-old criminal was arrested for stealing the weapon.

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Himanshu Roy, joint commissioner of police, crime, said Wadival P Devendra was caught by crime branch following a month long hunt. A .9 mm chez made Browning pistol along with two live rounds were recovered from him.

On September 29, 2012, sub-inspector Ranjana Salunke had been deployed on bandobast duty at the Juhu Chowpatty for the fifth day of Ganpati immersions.

While on duty, she went to a public toilet on Birla lane and kept her service revolver with six live rounds in the magazine and her cellphone on the skylight chamber.

While leaving she discovered that pistol was missing. After a brief search, she lodged a complaint with the Juhu police.

A month ago, the Unit 12 crime branch officers were tipped off about a notorious criminal from Bharat Nagar slums in Juhu wanting to sell a firearm.

A decoy customer struck a deal with Devendra, who was then arrested when he came to deliver the firearm, Roy said.

Devendra told the police that he and his friends were drinking behind the toilet. “He was peeping into the women’s toilet through the skylight chambers when he saw the pistol and flicked it,” Roy said. “He then went home and fired four round in the inside his house. However, his neighbours claim to have not heard anything,” said Roy.

Devendra has a case of murder, two cases of assault and an equal number of theft cases registered against him at the Juhu police station in the past three years.