Navi Mumbai: A 20-year-old electronic engineering student from a Navi Mumbai college was arrested by crime branch unit 2 for allegedly committing burglary at a mobile phone store in Panvel and fleeing with 54 phones worth Rs 24 lakh earlier this month. The student told the police that he committed the crime to pay his college fees.
Panvel city police said the burglary was captured on CCTV cameras at the store, Pujara Telecom. The student was wearing a helmet to prevent being identified. After scanning the CCTV footage in the locality, though, crime branch sleuths zeroed in on the suspect, who was seen on a bike in the locality past midnight. From the bike’s registration, his name and address were obtained.
They learned that he was a resident of a village in Uran, where he lived with his mother and sister. Due to a financial crisis, he was unable to pay his college fees for the third year and hence resorted to the burglary.
Police said he was arrested within two days of the crime near the parking zone outside CBD-Belapur railway station while selling the stolen phones to passersby. Police have recovered 41 phones worth Rs 19.2 lakh so far. — George Mendonca