Mumbai: A 30-year-old social media influencer was arrested on Thursday night from Kurla West for alleged burglary in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai to fund his ‘lavish’ lifestyle that included buying branded clothes, a bike, and visiting upscale restaurants.
The arrested accused, Abhimanyu Gupta, has around 4.4 lakh followers on Instagram, and more than 10 lakh followers on TikTok, which was banned in 2020. The police said Gupta was born and raised in Wadia Estate, Bail Bazar in Kurla West. “There was a break-in within our jurisdiction at the residence of Mira Somaraiyya, 60, in Christian Gaon, Kurla West. The family had gone to their native place when on the night of May 17, the accused broke into the house and fled with 26 grams of gold and 1.5 kilograms of silver,” said Rajiv Chavan, senior inspector of police, VB Nagar police station.
The police have registered a case under Section 456 (lurking house-trespass or house-breaking by night) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). “We checked more than 150 CCTV footage, installed in the area to identify the accused and learnt that he was wearing a monkey cap and a mask to hide his identity during burglary,” said a police sub-inspector, Padmakar Patil, also from VB Nagar police station.
In one of the footage, police found the number plate of the two-wheeler owned by the accused, which helped cops to find out the identity. In addition to that, one of the CCTV footage also captured a blurry picture of Gupta. The police suspected it to be him, who had committed several house break-ins in Mumbai, Thane, and Navi-Mumbai area in the past and the images captured by the CCTV matched his identity.
“Based on the information, we arrested Gupta and recovered 14 high-end mobile phones, two laptops, 1.5 kilograms of silver and 25 grams of gold, and some foreign currency from him,” said Patil.
The police said they have also found four sacks full of footwear from his house in Kurla East and suspect he has stolen the footwear as well. “He apparently committed the crime all alone and spent the stolen money mostly on his lifestyle – clothes, bikes, and even a four-wheeler. He also used to visit posh restaurants and casinos,” said Patil.