They were young, unemployed, and prepared to bend the law to make a quick buck. Officials of Crime Branch, Unit-II, have apprehended a couple for robbing two senior citizens in the city. The accused confessed that they needed money for the delivery of their baby, as the woman was in the eighth month of her pregnancy.
The accused have been identified as Shaheen Khan (20) and her husband Rehan Khan (22). The Malvani residents were arrested from Ajmer Sharif on Friday. According to police, on May 23, Shaheen and Rehan approached Saeeda Shah (70), a resident of Telwala building in Pydhonie. Shah lives alone, as her three sons are settled in three different cities.
Around five years ago, Shaheen was working as a maid at Shah’s residence. To impress the elderly woman, the couple presented her with four kilograms of mangoes. Shaheen then offered to make tea for everyone, but she mixed some poison in Shah’s cup. Shah didn’t like the taste after taking a sip and refused to consume the rest. But she gave Rs 100 to Shaheen. Meanwhile, a few of Shah’s relatives arrived unexpectedly and the couple was forced to leave.
Two days later, Shaheen and Rehan visited Shah again. This time they used chloroform to make her unconscious. They then took Rs 60,000 in cash and gold ornaments worth Rs 1.9 lakh after breaking into her cupboard and locker. A few days later, the couple got in touch with a 65-year-old woman in Nagpada. Shaheen was earlier residing in the same area, and so the woman recognised her. Shaheen told her that she was pregnant and had come to receive care at JJ Hospital. She pleaded that she needed shelter for a few days and the woman consented.
After living there for five days, the couple again used chloroform on the victim, stole her mobile phone, gold ornaments and Rs 8,000 in cash, and took off. Two robberies with senior citizens as victims worried the police. Inspector Prashant Raje, in-charge of Crime Branch, formed a special team comprising Assistant Inspector Sudesh Ajgaonkar, Constables Hriday Mishra, Pramod Shirke, Subhash Mali and others.
The squad apprehended the duo from a hotel in Ajmer Sharif where they were hiding. Shaheen’s pregnancy and Rehan’s unique hairstyle gave them away. Cops suspect the couple has committed similar offences in Hyderabad. “We are questioning them and will produce them in court on Saturday,” said Raje. (MD)