Ex-Police Informer Arrested for Rs 1 Crore Burglary at Santacruz West Flat
The Santacruz police have arrested a 26-year-old former police informer from Darbhanga in Bihar for allegedly breaking into actor Lopamudra Raut’s fifth-floor flat in Santacruz West and stealing valuables worth nearly Rs 1 crore. Chandan Mukhiya was arrested on August 2 in connection with the burglary that took place on July 14, and police have recovered stolen goods worth around Rs 76.4 lakh from him.
According to investigators, the break-in occurred between 4:00 AM and 5:00 AM while Raut was away at her home in Nagpur. Mukhiya allegedly noticed bamboo scaffolding erected for repair work outside the Santacruz West building, climbed into the flat, and spent about an hour inside stealing cash, gold, diamond-studded jewellery, and expensive watches before escaping.
Raut returned to her flat on July 27 and found the front door locked from the inside. A building staff member entered through the balcony to open the door, after which Raut alerted the police. Officers reviewed local CCTV footage, where Mukhiya was captured in a single frame, and analyzed network tracking data to identify him. A police team then travelled to his village in Bihar to make the arrest.
Police revealed that Mukhiya was previously a police informer who assisted Gamdevi police in cracking a house-theft case in 2021. Officers said he used that experience to observe how investigators collect evidence and track suspects. Later that same year, he allegedly stole Rs 1.8 crore from his employer, a diamond merchant on Bhulabhai Desai Road near Breach Candy Hospital, burying the loot near his family home in Bihar.
Mukhiya was arrested again by Gamdevi police for a Rs 25 lakh burglary and was released on bail in January this year. Before the July 14 incident, he stayed in dormitories around Mumbai Central while conducting recce operations across the city. After the Santacruz burglary, he boarded the Jai Sagar Express towards the India-Nepal border. Within 10 days, Mukhiya and his 45-year-old uncle, Lalu Mukhiya, allegedly invested Rs 22 lakh in two land plots measuring 2,722.5 square feet near their village.
Lalu Mukhiya, who allegedly helped sell a portion of the stolen valuables, remains at large. The investigation was supervised by DCP (West Zone-2) Mohit Garg along with ACP Vinod Gaonkar, senior inspector Dattatray Masvekar, inspector Sakharam Mole, assistant inspector Sanjay Kalhatkar, sub-inspector Umesh Kaulge, and assistant sub-inspector Jaywant More.
