Facial recognition identifies Malad burglar, but his footwear seals the arrest

The Malad police, who had been hot on the trail of a jewellery shop burglar for an entire month, finally struck gold when they recognised him from his footwear and arrested him from Uttar Pradesh.  The police said they had initially used facial recognition systems (FRS) to identify the burglar but it was his footwear, that he had forgotten to change, that finally gave him away. The arrested accused has been identified as 30-year-old Mukeem Mateen Khan.

Earlier this week, on May 26, the police arrested him on the charge of committing burglary in a jewellery shop at Malad West. Khan, a resident of Ghatkopar, is a fabricator by profession and originally hails from Uttar Pradesh. On April 28, Khan broke into the Ratankala jewellery shop, located opposite Malad station, by removing the window AC unit at the rear of the premises and stole jewellery worth approximately Rs 4.99 lakh.

The accused (in black shirt) in police custody in UP’s Siddharthnagar

Following a complaint lodged by the jewellery shop owner, Malad police registered a case under relevant sections of the BNS on April 29. Acting under the guidance of Anand Bhoite, DCP, Zone XI; Vijay Panhale, SI; Deepak Revade, API; and Tushar Sukhdev, PSI, along with their team, an investigation was promptly launched. According to police sources, the accused frequently changed his clothes, altered his travel routes to evade arrest, and reached Ghatkopar before fleeing to Uttar Pradesh.

“There were initially no solid leads on the accused. CCTV footage from the jewellery shop and surrounding areas was examined, but due to poor lighting at night, his face was not visible. However, the investigation team continued to track the accused’s movements by meticulously reviewing CCTV footage to determine his escape route,” said an investigating officer.

It was discovered that the accused had taken a train from Malad station to Andheri, then boarded a metro to Asalpha, followed by a bus, and finally an auto-rickshaw. Further scrutiny revealed that he had used the same route to reach the jewellery shop before the crime. The police gathered CCTV footage from every possible location along the route, including the railway station, metro, and bus stops. Clear images from the footage were run through the facial recognition system (FRS) obtained from Andheri station, which was then circulated to all police stations for identification.

CCTV grab of the accused before he fled to Uttar Pradesh

A breakthrough came when the Versova police confirmed that the same individual had previously committed a similar theft at a shop. In an attempt to mislead the police, Khan had changed his clothes and his travel route — but forgot to change his slippers. That minor detail proved crucial. Using the distinct slippers as an identifier in the CCTV footage, police traced him to Ghatkopar. An officer involved in the investigation stated, “Despite all his efforts to avoid being caught, those slippers ultimately gave him away.”

“The accused’s mobile data records and tower location were being monitored continuously; however, his phone remained switched off. It is discovered that the accused had been making WhatsApp calls using a Wi-Fi network, making it difficult to trace his exact location through conventional mobile tracking,” added the officer.

Eventually, technical surveillance indicated that the accused was in UP’s Siddharthnagar district. A police team was immediately dispatched from Mumbai, although they initially lacked precise information about his village address.

“The breakthrough came when police ran the accused’s mobile number through the Vahan portal. The app revealed a motorcycle registered in his name, along with a detailed address,” said another police officer. Using the address provided by the Vahan database, the police team reached the location and successfully took the accused into custody.

“During interrogation, the accused confessed to the crime and revealed that he had sold the stolen jewellery to purchase a motorcycle worth Rs 2 lakh and had spent the remaining amount,” the officer added.

“Following his arrest, the accused was produced before a local court and brought to Mumbai on transit remand. He was later produced before the Borivli court on Thursday, which remanded him to police custody,” said Senior Inspector Vijay Panhale, Malad police station.