Man Arrested for Stealing 5 LPG Cylinders from Mumbai Police Headquarters Quarters
The Azad Maidan police arrested a 30-year-old man within 24 hours after five LPG cylinders were allegedly stolen from police quarters located adjacent to the Mumbai Police Headquarters.
The accused has been identified as Krishnakumar Ramchandra Gupta, who was staying at Shop No. 1, Devi Shridevi Enterprises on Wellington Street in Dhobitalao. Gupta is originally from Meru village in the Hazaribagh district of Jharkhand.
According to the police, Gupta had been residing and working in Mumbai for the past five months at Devi Shridevi Enterprises. During interrogation, he allegedly told investigators that he had suffered financial losses of around ₹12 lakh in the share market in 2022. He had taken loans to cover those losses and was struggling to pay the EMIs.
The Azad Maidan police registered a case regarding the theft on August 11 under Section 303(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) following a complaint from a resident. Gupta was traced and arrested shortly after the case was filed.
The stolen cylinders, collectively valued at around ₹11,500, belonged to five police families residing in the quarters. Complainant Manisha Patil, 34, who has lived in the building for nearly 20 years, told police that residents typically keep their LPG cylinders in the common verandah outside their homes, assuming the premises were secure due to their proximity to the police headquarters.
Patil discovered the incident at around 6 am on August 11 when she noticed that the LPG cylinder outside her residence was missing. After checking the surrounding area and speaking with neighbours, she learned that multiple other homes had also been targeted.
According to the police complaint, the stolen property included an HP Gas cylinder belonging to Manisha Patil valued at around ₹1,500, a filled cylinder belonging to Rajesh Patil worth ₹2,500, cylinders belonging to Milind Juwekar and Vinod Kamble valued at ₹2,500 each, and a Bharat Gas cylinder belonging to Abasaheb Desai, also worth around ₹2,500.
