MUMBAI, December 2: Residents of Malad (E) may hardly be faulted for thinking that bolting their doors is an exercise in futility. Three daredevil daylight housebreaks have taken place in one locality - around Sangeeta theatre - in less than two weeks. While one of them, involving a theft of five and half kilos of gold has been solved by the Dindoshi police station in a record four days, two others are yet to be sorted out.

The last robbery took place in Shanti Niketan, where flat no 5 was broken into and looted on Sunday, within two hours of the family going out for lunch. Although the police are still clueless, family members believe that the housebreakers entered the building on the pretext of collecting funds for an orphanage.

A booklet of receipts for an `Anandashram' in Nagpur was left at the site of the theft. The modus operandi involved was breaking the latch which held the lock and unscrewing the interlock. The robbers decamped with a deck, camera and some cash, totally valued at Rs 20,000.

This robbery occurred a stone's throw from another housebreak at Sahkar Society, next to Sangeeta theatre, where the door was forced open and jewellery and cash looted in broad daylight on November 18. The flat was locked as the working couple living here were out in the afternoon.

The biggest heist, though, took place on November 25, when four men entered a flat at Ratnapuri, near the above mentioned buildings, and after gagging the inmates walked away with five-and-a-half kilos of gold worth Rs 17 lakh.

Amazingly enough, the case was solved within four days, with the thieves traced to Rajkot. Detection officers Ramesh Bankar and H A Kshirsagar of the Dindoshi police station returned this morning with two of the accused, Sanjay Sawant (32) and Arun Shetty (23). Two others are absconding.

``It was definitely the handiwork of somebody who was aware that so much gold was stacked in the house,'' said Bankar. Vinod Shah, the flat owner, apparently had a jeweller friend keep his jewellery in his house since the latter's shop was located near a slum. Of the gold found in his house, a kilo belonged to Shah. The man who tipped off the four accused was a family friend who had been apparently refused monetary help.

On November 25, four youths knocked at Shah's flat. There was nobody in the house but for his pregnant daughter and a maid. The maid, believing the men to be guests, opened the door, called the daughter and walked into the bathroom to complete her chores. The daughter was gagged, the cupboard opened and the bag which had the jewellery snatched away.

The four then fled the scene. The police picked up one Jaya Shetty on the same day, who while disclaiming his involvement, informed about another group. This group was traced to another person living in the MIB colony, Borivli. ``We were informed that they had left for Rajkot'', said Bankar. Immediate parleys with the Rajkot police and the cooperation of the Vyapari Association in Mumbai sounded off local jewellers in Rajkot.

As expected, Sawant and Shetty approached one of the shopkeepers who alerted the Rajkot police. While the other two who were at a lodge were able to escape, the Dindoshi police take pride in being able to retrieve the entire jewellery within four days. ``In most cases, the pattern of ornaments are changed to deceive the investigators. But in this case, we were able to nab them before they could do any such thing,'' said Kshirsagar.

Talking about the spate of robberies in his area, senior police inspector K A Gawde denied that there was an increase in housebreak thefts in the locality. ``I can say with surety that compared to other police stations, crime is under tight control at Dindoshi, despite the fact that we are severely short of police. For an area of 10 to 11 lakh, we have a staff of only 132 to patrol the area''. He added that the other two thefts would also be solved soon.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.