Mumbai Crime: Two steal 3.8-tonne metal sheet

Cops were shocked to see CCTV footage of a crane and truck loading the metal plate

The Malwani police on Thursday arrested a man for a daylight robbery of metal plates installed on the road. However, his accomplice, who has been traced to Mumbra, is still at large.

According to the police sources, on Monday at around 8 am, the robbers noticed the BMC contractor place a metal sheet on the dug up part of the road to ensure smooth traffic flow. When the contractor visited the spot later, he saw the metal plate missing. He then registered a police complaint against unidentified robbers.

"On the complaint of the contractor Dashrath Balaji Purohit, we have registered a case under various sections of the Indian Penal Code. We scanned CCTV footage from the area and were shocked to find a crane and truck loading the metal plate, which weighed around 3.8 tonne, in broad daylight," said a police officer.

"We traced the driver using the truck number and brought him to the police station for interrogation. The truck driver said that he was contacted by the accused through an online portal and was asked to transport the sheet to a scrap shop in Govandi. The accused also showed him the challan paper," he added.

The scrap dealer told the police that he had bought the metal sheet for Rs 1.5 lakh after the accused showed him a receipt. "We traced one accused Habib Sharif Siddique, 54. The other accused, Sonu, a resident of Mumbra is absconding," the officer added.