CCTV footage shows the man inside an office.
He could've been mistaken for The Invisible Man, were it not for the watchful eye of a solitary CCTV camera. A yet unidentified housebreaker ransacked 11 mercantile outlets at the Kanara Business Centre in Ghatkopar late on Tuesday night. The crook, who spent about an hour carrying out the caper, managed to steer clear of the eight security guards posted there at the time. However, a surveillance camera installed in one of the offices recorded some of his antics.
"The housebreaker was inside the centre for more than an hour. He effortlessly stole merchandise from there, and even broke the iron grills used to secure a few of the shops," said Ram Jadhav, treasurer of Kanara Business Centre. A case was registered yesterday morning, after which, on the basis of suspicion, Pant Nagar cops asked all the security guards to congregate at the police station around 8 pm.
Ajay Mahtre, who had rented one of the shops dealing in film equipment, said, "I have lost Rs 73,000, as the burglar took all the cash in the locker. I have been occupying this space on lease for the past eight months, and I was assured that no such crime had taken place here in 10 years. At about 9.15 am, when an employee visited the office, he discovered the situation. When I reached the spot, many people had already gathered."
In all, Rs 1.5 lakh in cash and some documents had been stolen from the business centre. Pant Nagar police has registered a case of theft, and is checking its records to trace the burglar. Cops said that they are comparing the images retrieved from the CCTV footage with criminals in their records. "We are investigating the case from several angles. A number of people are being interrogated," said an officer from Pant Nagar police station, who did not wish to be named.
Rs 1.5 L
Total amount in cash looted by the housebreaker