Mumbai Crime: In operation Ali Baba, Dahisar police nab 2 chors

The thieves had struck at a house at Rawal Pada, Dahisar. Representation pic

As they broke into a sweat scanning CCTV footage and mobile call data records to crack a burglary, the Dahisar police were momentarily transported to the Arabian Nights after a suspect's name popped up as Ali Baba on TrueCaller. Unlike the 40 thieves in the popular folk tale, this case had two suspects but - amused by the discovery - the cops named their operation Ali Baba.

The Dahisar police registered case in January after two men stole cash and jewellery worth '6.5 lakh from a house at Rawal Pada. The two, identified as Salman Ansari and Hyder Ali Saifi, were arrested three days ago from Delhi and Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh.

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"We went through the footage of hundreds of CCTV cameras and spotted the two at Vasai railway station. We started tracking their mobile numbers and their cell tower locations," said an officer from Dahisar. "They kept changing SIM cards but the IMEI numbers remained unchanged," said the officer.

The team, including senior inspector Pravin Patil, inspector Sanju Bangar and investigating officer Malhar Thorat, were intrigued after the popular caller ID software showed one of the numbers used by Hyder Ali Saifi as Ali Baba. They then gave the name to their WhatsApp group, which was formed to crack the case.

"We observed that the accused were constantly changing their mobile numbers. Till their arrest, they had changed 97 SIM cards. We traced their last location to Bijnor. A team arrested Saifi from there and he led us to Ansari in Delhi," said the officer.

The police have also arrested a jeweller named Khushal Verma for allegedly buying the stolen jewellery from the duo. The officer said, "The accused are habitual offenders with criminal records in Delhi, UP and Mumbai."

Rs 6.5 Lakh
Value of items and cash stolen by the criminals