4 female thieves beat up 61-year-old, nabbed

A notebook helped the Nehru Nagar police nab four alleged female thieves who had brutally assaulted and robbed a 61-year-old woman of jewellery worth Rs 1.65 lakh last month.

The accused had barged into Manda Nakase’s house at Kamraj Nagar in Kurla in the afternoon of August 30, posing as rationing officers. The women asked Nakase to show them her ration card, and when she went inside her bedroom, they tried to strangle her.

“One of them gagged Nakase, while another slammed her to the floor. They then hit her on the head with a wooden stool. After she fell unconscious, they removed her gold bangles and chain and fled,” said DCP Shahaji Umap.

Mr Umap, when asked to name the accused, refused.

After Nakase regained consciousness, she called her sister-in-law, who took her to the hospital. “While investigating the matter, our officials got hold of a notebook that the accused had left behind. It had several names, including that of a class 4 student and her school, which is in Wadala. Our officers visited the school and got the girl’s details. But when they asked the girl’s mother questions, she was reluctant to say anything. After our officers left, she called three women friends to her house,” said Mr Umap.

The officers, who had been keeping an eye on the woman, arrested her, after which the women confessed their crime. Investigations revealed that one of the accused is a close relative of the complainant and she had hatched the plan with her friends. There are more than 10 cases registered against this gang in various city police stations.