Duo would then sell clothes at half price on WhatsApp groups; game was up after staff found jeans worth Rs 7 lakh missing
Prashant Chavan and Ajay Sunil Zogade, the accused
The Sakinaka police arrested two men on September 25 who targeted several branded clothing stores across Mumbai, stealing clothes by concealing them under their outfits while in the changing rooms. According to police, the accused sold these expensive clothes at half the MRP through a WhatsApp group they created. The suspects, identified as Ajay Sunil Zogade and Prashant Chandrakant Chavan, stole clothes worth around Rs 7 lakh over the past month from a Calvin Klein store near Sakinaka Metro station.
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Recently, the duo was caught at an Amboli store with stolen denim. REPRESENTATION PIC
Both had been previously arrested by Pune and Mumbai police for similar thefts. A police official said the thefts occurred multiple times at the CK Calvin Klein store in Sakinaka. The accused would enter the store, try on clothes, conceal them under their own clothing, and then leave without paying. One officer said, “They mostly stole expensive denims, priced between Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000. They also confessed to stealing clothes from stores in Amboli and Pune City.”
Zogade and Chavan, childhood friends from Airoli, have been jobless for the past 2-3 years and come from middle-class backgrounds. Recently, they were caught at an Amboli store with stolen denim hidden under their clothes. At the end of the month, during a routine stock check, the store staff discovered clothes worth R7 lakh missing at the Sakinaka store. After reviewing CCTV footage, they spotted the suspects entering the changing rooms and reported it to police, filing an FIR.
A team led by Senior Inspector Gabaji Chimate, along with API Maitranand Khandare and Constable Bangade, used the CCTV footage to identify and trace the suspects to their residence in Airoli. During the investigation, police found that the accused had sold all the stolen clothes to their local friends, offering denim worth Rs 15,000 for just Rs 5,000-Rs 6,000, still with the original tags. Senior Inspector Chimate confirmed, “We arrested both suspects with the help of CCTV footage. They stole expensive denims and sold them at extremely low prices to their friends.”
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