Man who stole Rs 6 lakh jewellery from woman commuter's handbag nabbed

MUMBAI: A well-dressed man, who stole jewellery worth Rs 6 lakh from a woman’s handbag at Borivli railway station a month ago, was recently arrested. GRP officials said Shrikant Damani would target affluent passengers boarding long-distance trains. He had sold some of the stolen ornaments to an elderly jeweller from Surat who has also been held.
Bhayander resident Rahul Agarwal was headed to Ahmedabad for his brother’s wedding on June 18.He was accompanied by his wife, Neha, and other relatives. After the group boarded Gujarat Mail from platform 6 around 11pm, Neha realised her handbag had been unzipped and a purse containing her gold and diamond ornaments was missing. As the train had begun its journey by then, the Agarwals registered a complaint with railway police on alighting at Ahmedabad. The case was then transferred to Borivli GRP.
Police scanned CCTV footage from the platform for that day. A police team spotted Damani moving around suspiciously at Borivli station around 9am on July 5. They recollected spotting him in the footage of June 18. When interrogated at the police station, they found that Damani has a criminal record and he admitted to the theft. A search of his house revealed some of the stolen ornaments, including a necklace, two chains and a ring. He led police to Surat, where he had sold off the rest of the ornaments to Ramesh Lodhia, a 60-year-old jewellery store owner.
Police found that Lodhia had already melted the stolen ornaments. Ninety gm gold was seized and Lodhia was arrested for purchasing stolen property.