Mumbai: With no police help, residents identify Mahim’s battery chor

A resident shows the chain lock installed on his car to prevent battery theft

Fed up with the police's inaction on the increasing thefts of car batteries in the Mahim West area, locals have said that they will soon launch a strike against the Mahim police if they fail to register a FIR. Residents have claimed that they have identified the accused with the help of CCTV cameras installed in the vicinity and went to the police with it, but, the cops are yet to act.

The residents have identified the accused as Hasan Shaikh. According to the people, the accused is the son of a police informer and earlier worked with the Mahim Traffic police. In the past few weeks, the batteries of more than 35 cars have been stolen in the Mahim West area. Following the incident, the residents approached Mahim police. However, according to them, instead of an FIR, the cops only registered a non-cognisable offence (NC), deeming the theft "not serious".

The thief seen in CCTV camera footage

A local resident, Mustaq Ansari, said, "I approached the Mahim police after my car battery was stolen. Instead of registering the FIR, they only registered an NC and also failed to take any action. I also caught him [Shaikh] once red-handed while stealing my car battery on September 20, but he managed to escape before I could hand him over to the police."

"The car battery costs about Rs 4,000-5,000. The cops are not arresting the accused because his father is a police informer. We have footage of him carrying stolen batteries," he said. He added the locals will take to the streets against the Mahim police if they fail to take action against Shaikh. "If the police don't register an FIR, we will protest outside Mahim police station."

Another victim, Sanjay Janardhan Marathe, an owner of a car garage in Mahim West, said, "I have seen Shaikh many times in the area. He was working with a towing van with the traffic division, but now he is a drug addict. He is stealing car batteries and selling them. My complaint was also not taken."

Rahmat Shaikh, a 40-year-old resident of Mahim, said, "We are helpless. He is stealing batteries from our cars, but we can't do anything. We are securing our batteries with a lock chain now." Addressing complaints, DCP (Zone V) Ganesh Gawde said, "I will inform the senior inspector of Mahim police to inquire about battery theft incidents and take appropriate action."