Gang of Delhi women steal designer clothes in Mumbai, one held

WHILE SOME OF THEM DISTRACTED SALES STAFF AT THE STORE, THE OTHERS STUFFED DRESSES INSIDE COMPARTMENTS IN THEIR CLOTHES

MUMBAI: A four-member allwomen gang involved in stealing designer clothes worth several lakhs from high-end boutiques across Mumbai was busted on Wednesday with the arrest of the mastermind in New Delhi, police said.

The gang travelled to Mumbai all the way from Delhi in a chauffeur-driven car and had a unique modus operandi. Four well-dressed women would arrive at a high-end designer boutique. Two or three would distract the sales staff; one or two would stuff expensive dresses inside hidden compartments in their clothes, Mumbai police said.

The incident came to light after the gang targeted a boutique in south Mumbai’s Churchgate.

According to Rehan Netrawala, the owner of Naibah Fashion Store in Apeejay House, four women visited his store on April 7. While three women distracted the saleswomen on duty, one of them made away with a gown worth around ₹1.4 lakh. When Netrawala checked CCTV footage, he approached the police.

A police officer said, “We found that the vehicle used by the accused had a Delhi registration. We checked CCTV footage at various toll plazas and found that the accused had left the city after committing the crime. Following orders from senior inspector Rajesh Pawar, a team headed by assistant police inspector Pravin Shinde left for Delhi.”

With the help of Fastag (the automated RFID enabled toll collection technology) and various challans, the police team traced the vehicle owner and through him reached Rajbala SH Rocky, 36, of Mangolpuri.

“Rajbala was arrested and it was learnt that each member of the gang was assigned a role during the theft. While some of them keep the salesmen busy, the others steal dresses and hide them in their salwars having a bag tied to the waist,” Shinde said.

Investigators realised that Netrawala’s outlet was not the only shop the gang hit in its spree of thefts. Rajbala and her accomplices had similarly stolen dresses worth ₹7.5 lakh from a Juhu store the same day they carried out the theft in Churchgate.

Similar cases have been reported from other areas in Mumbai, Kala Ghoda, Juhu, Santacruz and Khar.

“The Juhu and Santacruz police have already sought Rajbala’s custody. We are tracing the three accomplices who have fled after the news of her arrest. We have also recovered the stolen gown,” the police added.

“We are also trying to find to whom they sold such costly dresses,” Shinde said.