Three rich boys burgle actress’ flat

From: Mid-Day Mumbai, India - Dec 17, 2003

By: Nitasha Natu

Three youngsters, with a deaf and dumb ringleader, learnt that coming up with easy money can sometimes give you a hard time with the law. The Oshiwara police arrested three Lokhandwala residents for breaking into a house and stealing Rs 25 lakh.

The boys, all in the age group of 19-22, used the money for pub-hopping, rave parties, drugs and womanising.

Gautam Arjun Singh (21), Sadak Hussain Khan (22) and Abdul Razzak Kudalkatti (19) were arrested on Friday for breaking in and robbing the house of an upcoming starlet on November 27. Interestingly, Gautam, who is the mastermind, is deaf and dumb and figures in the police records for motor theft in the past.

"The trio were always short of funds for their spendthrift ways. So they chalked out a foolproof plan to break into Gautam's neighbour's house, who wasn't home most of the times," said sources from the Oshiwara police.

"They kept watch over her house and kept track of days when she left the city and then made duplicate keys to her house. On November 27, they loitered near Gautam's house and broke into the film actress' flat, which was on the same floor, looting it clean of cash and jewellery worth over Rs 25 lakh.

They also broke open the door of another neighbour but found no valuables in that flat," said sources. When the actress returned to Mumbai and found she had been robbed, she registered a police complaint.

The three were arrested within a week and over Rs 15 lakh was recovered under the supervision of deputy commissioner of police R D Shinde.

"The boys spent a large part of the money on pubs at Juhu, coffee shops and dance bars. They come from well-off and educated families but wanted the money urgently. It is sad that youngsters, rather than cutting down on expenses, took to crime," said a senior police officer. The three have been remanded to police custody. Further investigations are on.

© 2003 Mid-Day Multimedia Ltd. All rights reserved